- 2 weeks ago
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00Today I'm joined by one of the most dominant big men of his era. He's a player whose impact on the game can still be felt today.
00:06He's a 2020 NBA champion, eight-time All-Star, eight-time All-NBA selection, and a three-time Defensive Player of the Year.
00:13Just this month, he was enshrined in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, solidifying his place among the greatest to ever play the sport of basketball.
00:21Now, he's going to be heading to New York City to be honored at the 40th Annual Great Sports Legend Dinner,
00:26an event that brings together icons from across the sports world to raise awareness and funds in the fight to cure paralysis.
00:32Dwight Howard is the name, and he's with us right now. Dwight, how you doing, man?
00:37I am amazing. I'm grateful to be here and grateful to have this, to be honored for the hard work and the effort that I put in on the basketball court and off the court.
00:48So I really appreciate it.
00:49No, man, it's good. It's going to be a good vibe on the 29th of September at that Legends Dinner.
00:54But I want to talk to you about some things. First of all, congratulations on your enshrinement into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.
01:01Yeah, it was really great to see you get that honor and see you there as a player I've watched for some time.
01:06But what does that honor mean to you personally after everything that you've achieved in your career?
01:10I just listed all those accomplishments. What did it mean to you to get into the Hall of Fame?
01:14Oh, man, it's like really getting into heaven.
01:17It's like, you know, hearing your name called in the Lamb's Book of Life, and you're getting up there and God is saying,
01:24you know, am I doing a faithful servant?
01:27That's how it felt when I first got the call, is that Jesus said, hey, son, it's time to come home.
01:34And then actually getting, you know, getting the jacket and everything was like, you know, really getting into heaven.
01:41All the hard work, my purpose on earth, my purpose on the court has been fulfilled.
01:46And it was so amazing to be there with my family, my friends, and everyone who came out just to support me on my day.
01:54It was really amazing.
01:56Yeah, it looked amazing.
01:58And, you know, when I was watching your enshrinement speech, I could see how much that it meant to you, you know, to get this award, to get to this point, right, in your journey.
02:05But when you look back at your journey, right, because you've had an interesting journey, right?
02:09You go from being a number one pick overall, you eventually was an NBA champion in 2020, now you're a Hall of Famer.
02:15Do you have, this is tough, I know we're asking for one moment.
02:18Do you have one moment or a couple of moments that stand out to you the most about this journey?
02:22Oh, man.
02:23For me, you know, I'm a person that always lived in the moment, you know, always stayed right directly in the moment.
02:32And every single moment that I had in my career, the ups, the downs, the good, the bad, it's all shaped me into who I am today and it's made me into a Hall of Fame moment.
02:44I've had some great moments with teammates, like being in the Olympics, sharing the court, playing with Kobe Bryant,
02:51just playing with LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony, winning the championship.
02:59All those moments are amazing.
03:00And I would say my time in Orlando was so special.
03:07I miss those days.
03:08The fans, you know, going to the gym, two, three in the morning, practicing and seeing all the fans outside our practice facility, watching me practice and talking to me and motivating me.
03:24Man, that was a great time to be alive.
03:26Nah, it was a great time.
03:27It was fun watching you in a Magic uniform.
03:29I know a lot of people enjoyed that, but there's been a lot of talk, Dwight, about how your prime years, we can talk about those Orlando years, were underappreciated, especially after you were not named to the NBA's top 75 team.
03:41Do you feel like your career has been underrated by the fans or the media, especially when you didn't make that top 75 team?
03:47I think more so the media.
03:49You know, I think they've done a number on, you know, making it seem like what I've done in my career, what I've accomplished on the court wasn't as shouldn't be celebrated, you know.
04:03And it's really crazy, you know, it's like the things that have happened off the court, you know, situations, they have kind of taken more attention than the stuff that I was doing on the floor.
04:17And that's one thing that, you know, I really don't like is like trying to destroy somebody's testimony in a real way, you know, because I've never been mean to a fan.
04:29I've always been, you know, a person to have fun on the court, enjoy the game, but it's like, you know, certain things that have been said in my past and done, that has taken more of the spotlight than, you know, my basketball career, which I've done some amazing things.
04:46And when I've done amazing things on the court, like I've had games, I've had 30 points and 30 rebounds, and the media has taken stuff like that and said, well, he should have been doing that.
04:57He should have been there.
04:58So it's kind of like made people been like, yeah, that's right.
05:01You know, he should have done this and done that.
05:03And, you know, that sucks.
05:05But at the end of the day, being in the Hall of Fame, knowing that it's only 450 people who've ever existed in life who are in the Hall of Fame, and I'm one of them, you know, it's just, it takes away everything.
05:19Now, hey, Dwight, you got to say that with your chest, right?
05:21They can't take that away from you.
05:23You're in the Hall of Fame.
05:24You have all the accomplishments.
05:25I thought it was, I'll be honest with you, I thought it was ridiculous you weren't on the top 75 list.
05:29I thought it was ridiculous.
05:30I did, too.
05:31You're good.
05:31I'm glad you're with me.
05:33When you did all that you've done, and I listed all your accomplishments at the beginning of this chat, it's crazy if you're not on the top 75 list.
05:40But, like you said, you were in the Hall of Fame.
05:42It is.
05:43First ballot Hall of Famer, too, we should add.
05:44First ballot Hall of Famer.
05:46Yeah, I think when I get older, I think when I get older, like maybe like 60, then I think they'll go back and say, man, remember Dwight Howell when he played and all this stuff?
05:56I think, you know, it'd be a little bit different like that.
05:59You know, Dominique Wilkins was somebody who went through, you know, some things like that where it took him a long time and started getting a good recognition because of the era that he was playing in.
06:10He played against some really good competition, and I think a lot of times he was overshadowed because of the Jordans and the Larry Burrs and the Isaiah Thomases and the people he had to play in that era.
06:23But now everybody's like, man, human highlight film, he averaged 30.
06:27He was right up on the Jordan for the most points.
06:30You know, he could have won the scoring champ.
06:32He did all these different things.
06:33He tore his Achilles.
06:35They came back and played overseas and won championships.
06:38So, you know, he finally got some respect, and he got a statue in Atlanta.
06:43So, you know, one day it'll happen.
06:46And that's a great point and a great comp with Dominique Wilkins.
06:50You're right, but they definitely won't leave you off the top 100 team when we get to that.
06:53You better not, huh.
06:54I'm going to the NBA office and the ESPN office, and I'm causing a riot.
07:00There we go.
07:00We got to talk to somebody if that happens.
07:02We got to do that.
07:03So, we got to talk about the Great Sports Legends Dinner on September 29th here in New York, right?
07:07What does it mean for you to be included because there's so many other icons that are going to be at this dinner, right?
07:12And just what does it mean to you and also to be honored and called a legend?
07:16I don't think anybody ever thinks they're going to be called a legend.
07:18So, when you are among the legends and you get called a legend, what does that mean to you?
07:23Man, one, it makes me feel like I'm getting real old, you know, because people say, man, you're a legend.
07:30I'm like, Kyle, you have to be old to be a legend.
07:32I don't think you can be a young legend.
07:34So, you know, it's really a blessing, man, just to be celebrated, you know, to be honored, you know,
07:40especially while you're alive and get both loud and stuff like that.
07:44So, you know, I'm so grateful for it.
07:46Grateful to be among the rest of the legends who are getting to honor Dominique Wilkins, you know,
07:52all these legends that will be there.
07:55Being in New York, this is a dream come true, man.
07:58I know I'm a young guy, but, you know, all these things that have been happening,
08:02it's just really just been a blessing, and I'm really thankful.
08:05I like it.
08:05You're not, Dwight, you're not going to get me to call you old, but you're a legend.
08:08I call you a legend.
08:09I'm not going to call you old.
08:10That's not going to happen here.
08:12I want to talk about something, because when I think about you as a player,
08:15I always think about defense, right, and how much pride do you take or did you take
08:19in being a three-time Defensive Player of the Year
08:21and somebody who changed the way that teams had to prepare, you know,
08:25with their offense for you defensively in your era.
08:28How much pride do you take in that?
08:29Oh, man, that was everything for me.
08:32I wanted to make sure every time I stepped on the court,
08:35teams feared coming in the paint, teams feared our team,
08:39because when I first got to the Magic, we were like the laughingstock of a league.
08:43Everybody was just always, you know, oh, we're going to Disney World.
08:47We can take the night off.
08:48We don't have to worry about playing the Magic.
08:50And we wanted to change that perception.
08:52And once we did, you know, we just took off,
08:55and I felt like I could have got Defensive Player of the Year every year,
08:59and that was my goal.
09:00I like that.
09:01I like that focus.
09:01Three-time Defensive Player of the Year.
09:02Not easy to do.
09:03Not so many people have won it that many times.
09:05I got a couple more things for you, Dwight.
09:07You played against so many great players over the years.
09:10Who were the toughest matchups that you ever faced?
09:14Who gave you a problem where you were like,
09:15man, this guy's a problem if I see him tonight?
09:18Really, it was just, you know, playing against all the great teams.
09:22You know, I played against the Arrow.
09:23I was playing against the Pistons when they had just won the championships in 04
09:27with the Bad Boy Pistons and the new Bad Boy Pistons with Ben Wallace
09:32and Rasheed Wallace and Chauncey Billups.
09:36And then playing against the Kobe team with Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol
09:43and Andrew Bynum, I'm sorry.
09:46Man, Dirt and the Whiskey, KGs, the Tim Duncans, the Spurs.
09:52We were playing against some actual awesome teams, man.
09:56And that was, I think, that era of basketball was so crazy
10:00because I don't think people understand how hard it was to dominate in that era,
10:04to be successful.
10:07There wasn't guys averaging over, you know, close to 20 points
10:10back when I first came into the league.
10:13So just seeing the growth of the game and stuff like that has been crazy.
10:17Yeah, no, it's been crazy.
10:18You played in the era with a lot of good big men there.
10:21You mentioned some of them and Dirk and KG and those guys.
10:24I want to talk to you about the current team here in New York, the Knicks.
10:27They were two wins away from the finals last season, Dwight.
10:29They made some changes.
10:31New coach, got themselves a deeper bench,
10:33or at least it looks like that right now.
10:35Do you believe this Knicks group has what it takes
10:36to bring a championship to New York?
10:39Man, it's tough.
10:41It doesn't get easier, you know.
10:43When you make it to the finals, you know, you assume like,
10:47man, I can make it back.
10:48I know what it takes now.
10:49I just did it.
10:49And it gets harder.
10:52So hopefully the Knicks come back with, you know,
10:56that same passion, that same energy, and that same effort,
11:00and they be consistent for the whole year
11:02because it is very tough to get to the finals in the NBA.
11:05Not only do you have to be in great shape, you got to be kind of lucky.
11:11All the stars got to be in line for you to really get to the finals in the NBA and win.
11:16It takes a lot.
11:17And I thought what the Knicks did last year was amazing.
11:20I just think down the stretch, they all got tired.
11:23They all got tired.
11:24They didn't realize how much it took to actually get to the finals, you know.
11:28Physically is one part, but the mental part of it, you get tired.
11:33You get more tired mentally than the physical.
11:36Because the physical part, you're already dead beat.
11:39You're dead by the time you get to the finals.
11:42You're just really playing on will and how much dog you got inside of you.
11:47So, I really love their team, and I hope that they get back and do a great job.
11:53Yeah, the fans here are hoping for that.
11:54They were two wins away last year.
11:56We'll see what they will do.
11:57Last thing for me, Dwight, for you, as somebody who's been honored as one of the greats,
12:01you talked about you getting in the Hall of Fame and then this Legends Dinner,
12:04what do you hope that people will say about your basketball legacy?
12:07Let's say we already went into the future a little bit, 20, 30, even 40 years from now.
12:11And I guess, what do you believe is Dwight Howard's legacy?
12:14My legacy, you know, a player that has the most faith out of anybody, you know,
12:23that's big for me is my belief, my confidence.
12:26So, I want people to take away from that is just if you believe that you can do anything,
12:32you put your mind to it and your heart to it, then it's possible.
12:35I believe that I could soar.
12:37I believe that I could jump as high as I can and fly and dunk
12:41and do all the crazy things that I did in my career.
12:44And I put in the work to go do it.
12:47So, that's what I want to be remembered for.
12:49Somebody that said that he was going to go do it and he went out there and did it
12:53and he made it happen.
12:54Man of his word.
12:56And, you know, for my whole career, I worked hard, I dominated,
13:00and I did it with a smile on my face.
13:02And, you know, that's what I want from people, players and, you know,
13:08anybody that like to, you know, live this life and understand that you only get one time around the track.
13:14So, whatever you do, whatever you do in life, do it wholeheartedly and God will bless you.
13:20And that's what he did for me.
13:22Nah, definitely did a blessed career.
13:24Dwight, I have to say, whenever I thank you, besides the defense, all the dunks,
13:28we just saw the crazy dunks you put on people, you always did it with a smile on your face.
13:32And Dwight Howard, he's going to be honored in New York City, September 29th,
13:35at the 40th annual Great Sports Legend Dinner.
13:38The great Hall of Famer, first ballot Hall of Famer,
13:41needs to be on the top 100 list for the NBA when it comes out.
13:44My guy, Dwight Howard.
13:45I said, if I had a new one.
13:46There we go.
13:47Yeah, there we go.
13:48We need to make that happen.
13:49Dwight, I appreciate the time, man.
13:51Yes, sir.
13:51I appreciate you.
Recommended
0:58
|
Up next
1:08
0:57
2:34
2:34
2:01
1:25
0:50
0:44
Be the first to comment