Dwight Howard is one of the more dominant two-way centers to ever grace the NBA. He’s also known for having a somewhat problematic attitude. Howard is off to a great start with the Atlanta Hawks, and he attributes that to head coach Mike Budenholzer. From Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
Following the Hawks’ 117-96 win over the 76ers Saturday night, I asked Howard for his thoughts about the team’s training and coaching staff. Here was his answer:
“It’s the best,” Howard said. “It’s the best. So grateful to be in this situation. They’ve done an amazing job, the training staff, the coaching staff. Bud has done an amazing job. We have a growing relationship that has been great so far. We are really understanding each other. And it’s good. I love having him as a coach. From the first time I met him until now, we’ve had a great connection. We want to continue that. I love how he holds me accountable every single day to be the guy for the team to lead them in the right direction. When I’m not doing the right things, he is on me. When I am doing the right things, he pushes me to do more. It’s just a great feeling.”
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“I think we’ve close to where we can be as a team,” Howard said. “One thing I can say is that this group is hungry. Coach is holding us accountable every single day to get better, continue to grow as a team. We want that. I think all of us want to win really bad. It starts, like I’ve been saying all year, in practice, in the weight room, all the little things that people don’t see. That’s where it starts.”
Howard has always needed a little push to play as well as he is capable of, and Budenholzer is giving him that push.
Howard is averaging 15.2 points, 12.4 rebounds, and 1.9 blocks per game on 63% shooting (career-high is 62%). The Hawks have won seven of their nine games.
Mike Budenholzer won the NBA Coach of the Year award in 2015.
