One of the biggest perks of playing the center position for the Los Angeles Lakers is working with one of the greatest players to ever play the position. With Kareem Abdul-Jabbar willing and able to offer his services to all Lakers centers over the years, Los Angeles has been a place for talented big men to come and thrive.
Even though Abdul-Jabbar has had rocky relationships with Shaquille O’Neal and Andrew Bynum in the past, the knowledge passed down from generation to generation has to be worth something. It’s a shame that none of the centers after him decided to perfect the hook shot, but no player has ever been able to pull that off since the six-time NBA champion retired back in 1989.
After acquiring Dwight Howard recently, one of the common questions asked was whether or not the up-and-comer would attempt to learn something from the man that mastered the position for two decades.
It appears that Howard has finally answered that question during a conversation with a fan via Twitter:
@dwighthoward Thanks for joining the Lakers. Look forward to you adding a chapter in lakers history books. Are you gonna workout@kaj33— Kobe System Fans (@KobeSystem_Fans) August 30, 2012
Howard replied with the following tweet:
@kobesystem_fans I am. When I’m released— Dwight Howard (@DwightHoward) August 30, 2012
The willingness to learn more about the position in the paint for arguably one of the greatest centers of all-time is promising to say the least. Howard is no stranger from soaking up the knowledge from great centers from the past as he learnt a thing or two from sessions with two-time NBA champion Hakeem Olajuwon as seen below.
Despite the problems faced with working with Shaq and Bynum, Jabbar might get a more open minded approach from the three-time Defensive Player of the Year. If Howard is able to learn some moves or get some work in with the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, the perennial All-Star might have a few more tricks up his sleeve in next season.
[lakersnation_player file=”http://youtu.be/boATrkv3sx0″ autostart=”false”]
