Dwight Howard: We Beat Ourselves in the NBA Finals
A little while back, we were invited to kicked it with Dwight Howard at the EA Studios in Vancouver, Canada. While going head-to-head in NBA Live 10 in a private room, we were able to fire away some questions at this season’s cover athlete about critics of his offensive skills, the time he beat Vince Carter in a dunk contest and the “100 Pushup Rule.”
Dime: When did you find out you were going to be on the cover of NBA Live?
Dwight Howard: This past year. At first I was like, “Are they lying about being on the cover?” And once I found out, I was like, “Oh, this is tight, I have to do it.’
Dime: I hear you are a serious gamer. How competitive does it get with teammates and friends?
DH: Well it’s competitive with my homeboys. We hate losing. And if somebody loses, they have to do like little bets. Like if you lose, you have to do push-ups. We play all day. One of my homeboys right here (points to his friend nearby), he used to throw the sticks down when he lost or break the controller so nobody else could play with it. So yeah, we really hate losing.
Dime: How happy are you with the authenticity of your character? Did they nail it with your moves, looks and even dance moves?
DH: It’s tight man to be honest with you. A lot of people had always talked about 2K. But after watching this game, you know just playing it for a quick second. The graphics are tight, the moves, the crowd everything, it’s very realistic. They even do the Superman. Before the game, I was doing the Soulja Boy and that was tight. It looks just how I did it, so I’m very happy about the way the game was done.
Dime: You guys made a great run to the Finals last year, but you let a couple of games get away from you. What did you take from that experience?
DH: Well, I think we beat ourselves in that series. And I just feel if we get back to the Finals we’re going to do a better job.
Dime: What do you specifically hope to improve in coming into this season?
DH: I would just say get my post game right and also my free throws. Just everything. My overall game, becoming a more complete player. I’m looking forward to next season.
Dime: You have taken a lot of criticism for both your free throw shooting and your post moves. Are you on a mission to prove people wrong?
DH: Well I’m not really focused on what people thought of my post game or post moves or whatever. My job is to go out on the court and get better every day and that’s the game plan. I’m looking forward to next season. I think we’re going to have a great season next year. A lot of teams have muscled up, we’re looking forward to the challenge, and I think we’re going be a better team next year than we were this year.
Dime: With trading for Vince Carter and losing Hedo Turkoglu, a lot has gone on with the Magic since the Finals. Are you happy with the moves?
DH: I’m very happy. I think Vince is going to do a great job for us. He’s one of the greatest players in the game today. He can do a lot of different things on the floor. He can post, he can shoot, he can pass – he’s a complete player. I look forward to playing with him, I think he’s going to make our team a lot better.
Dime: Speaking of Vince. Could you take him in his prime in a dunk contest?
DH: Actually me and Vince had a dunk contest a couple of years ago, back in Orlando. And I beat him. You can ask him. I did two dunks that he’s never even tried doing. One dunk was I took one dribble from half court and two steps and dunked the ball. Once he saw that he was like (Howard shakes his head).
Dime: We’ve seen you do a lot of impersonations from Stan Van Gundy to Shaq. Got any other guys around the League you like to impersonate?
DH: Well I used to imitate my teammate Hedo. (Dwight starts speaking in a Turkish accent) “Um, um…my name is uh…I’m Hedo Turkoglu. I play for the Toronto Raptors.” I’m working on Barkley right now. He’s pretty tough to do. I’ll have it ready by the next time I see you.
Follow Dime on Twitter at @DIMEMag
August 26th, 2009 at 10:37 am
J HUSTLE says:
beat vince in a dunk contest??? dam i’d love to see that shit. But i dont know about one dribble and two steps from half court, come on now dwight. Thats some superman shit 4real right there. And orlando didn’t beat themselves in the finals. I think that was KB24, Gasol, and Odom
August 26th, 2009 at 10:48 am
LakeShow84 says:
Beat themselves??
He talkin bout maturbation or this past Finals??
Cuz i saw them get they asses handed to them.. Lol you dont lose a series in 5 games and pop up and say “hey we couldve beat them if we really wanted”..
August 26th, 2009 at 10:57 am
lifep says:
“..I took one dribble from half court and two steps and dunked the ball..
So he dunked from around the 3pt. line???
LOL Yeah right!
August 26th, 2009 at 11:04 am
sh!tfaced says:
LMFAO@masturbation.
Choking, which the Magic did in the finals, is different from beating yourself, unless, of course, its masturbation he’s talkin’ about.
August 26th, 2009 at 11:04 am
jzsmoove says:
Lakers handed it to the Magic in the Finals. The ones that really beat themselves instead were the Denver Nuggets. They had the Lakers, and the Nuggets just started jacking up bad shots and making awful decisions in critical moments.
August 26th, 2009 at 11:15 am
bam blaam says:
d-wight needsta be a lil more real in his interviews. No way he actually developed a post move, NOT ONE. No way he’s gonna even become an okay free throw shooter since he never works on em hard enough. And 3, no way he dunked from the three point line, the dunk contests he’s been in were garbage. -
August 26th, 2009 at 12:10 pm
BiG ShoT BoB says:
For Dwight one dribble and two steps would put him at the free throw moron’s. I’m six feet and that’s about how much I need to get from the 3 point line to the basket.
August 26th, 2009 at 12:23 pm
bam blaam says:
we’re not talkin about from the three point line. DUMBAss
August 26th, 2009 at 12:33 pm
BiG ShoT BoB says:
I read the post like you did so obviously I’m also talking about from half court shit for brains.
August 26th, 2009 at 12:40 pm
bsteezy3 says:
Ok, I doubt he really did that dunk, but he’s right about the Finals. The one thing the Magic didn’t do in the finals was MAKE SHOTS; and I mean, the wide open ones, not where a defender was there (so don’t give me that ‘The Lakers played good D’ crap). The Magic were hot last season…until the Finals! And they still gave away a couple of games!
August 26th, 2009 at 12:40 pm
Chise says:
Yeah I dunno what this dude was talking about in this interview… His post game is terrible, if it got any better I’ll be shocked. And beating themselves?? Yeah if the Magic brought their A game and played their absolute best the series would of still been L.A in 6.
August 26th, 2009 at 1:01 pm
POPPI GEE says:
Nice interview. So who won the game of Live? Dwight’s impersonations of VanGundy crack me up. He most def. in his heart knows his team got beat, but I would expect him and most to go that way. Lakers should use that for motivation when the meet them though.
That first dribble had to be almost like a long bounce for him to do that. I don’t like stories you can’t go back and verify. I hope DIME does catch V.C. and ask him about that. Vince prolly gonna be like WHAT?
August 26th, 2009 at 1:20 pm
Prime Time says:
I don’t believe that he beat Vince Carter in a dunk contest. During his press conference, both him and Otis Smith said he won that contest.
Good interview Dime Magazine.
August 26th, 2009 at 3:21 pm
QQ says:
Dwight gonna be big cock swingin this year!
All MAGIC HATERS, get ready for some really serious man meat and potatoes inya grillz, ya diggg?? No Homo!
Goooo Magicccc!!!!
August 26th, 2009 at 3:27 pm
Birdy says:
Where’s the “100 pushup rule”?
August 26th, 2009 at 6:12 pm
Tim W says:
vince is the greatest dunker of all time… dwight doesnt come close
August 26th, 2009 at 10:53 pm
kowtz says:
Dribble: Half court to 3 point line
1st Step: 3 Pt Line to Inside of Circle
2nd Step: Inside of Cirle to A bit After the FT Line
Could Be done… He has long legs… I think it just looks good when done in one good stride…
August 27th, 2009 at 7:51 am
chief youngblood says:
vince carter is not one of the greatest players in the game
August 27th, 2009 at 10:44 am
jjankechu says:
Beating yourself, choking, & masturbation.
There’s a joke about David Carradine here, somewhere.
August 27th, 2009 at 12:57 pm
Mannywood29 says:
What the hell did he ever do to you, leave Kung Fu alone.
August 29th, 2009 at 7:00 pm
dwight says:
First off. I’m dwiights homeboy. I seen him do the dunk. More tha. n once. Y’all talk alotta noise behind y’all computer screens. Y’all couldn’t last a minute in his workout sessions. He work on his game. Now since yall. So good at ball come see him then.
August 30th, 2009 at 10:47 am
vince says:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7CD3vdSeVRI
here vince does the exact dunk that dwight described.
September 9th, 2009 at 10:18 pm
J the Drafter says:
It’s disappointing that the Magic just couldn’t close those two games out.