Dwight Howard Says Rehabbing In Atlanta Is Part Of A Plan To ‘Get To That Championship’

Dwight Howard’s tenure with the Washington Wizards hasn’t exactly gone smoothly. The veteran big man missed the start of the year with an injury, appeared in nine games, re-aggravated the issue, and eventually, needed surgery to fix a nerve issue in his back. Howard has been on the sideline since mid-November, and there’s no public timeline for his return to the floor.

While it’s been a weird season in general in Washington, the team is only three games back of the 8-seed in the Eastern Conference, so it’s not like all is for naught in the nation’s capital. Still, Howard has some awfully high expectations for what he thinks the team will accomplish once he returns to action.

Howard spoke with the media on Tuesday prior to Washington’s game against the Atlanta Hawks for the first time since he went under the knife, as he’s rehabbing in Atlanta. While discussing his return, Howard explained that doing rehab in his hometown is part of a plan to “get to that championship” once he’s healthy.

https://twitter.com/HoopDistrictDC/status/1075196272431284225

“Our team doctors had the best solution,” Howard said. “Go home, get your mind right, get your body right and when you return, let’s get to that championship.”

It’s certainly an ambitious goal for a Wizards team that has a whole lot of work to do between now and the postseason just to qualify for the playoffs, but in fairness, no one is going to say “I’m gonna spend all my rehab time lollygagging,” so I suppose this makes sense. Howard also sounds excited to go through the process of working his way back from an injury.

Howard must be excited about Trevor Ariza now being a Wizard, because he sure sounds excited about getting back onto the floor at some point.