Dwight Howard has left the city of angels, and with it, he’s dropping the nickname that has followed him since his days in Orlando.
According to USA Today, Howard now will be referred to as Rocket Man.
“He’s not Superman anymore. He’s Rocket Man now,” longtime Rockets broadcaster Bill Worrell said Saturday as he introduced the team’s major free agent acquisition.
As Howard took the stage and greeted several Houston officials including owner Leslie Alexander and coach Kevin McHale, a couple of his new teammates playfully repeated his new moniker — ‘Rocket Man, Rocket Man’ — and were met with a huge, toothy smile from Howard.
Howard himself embraced the nickname change, and his new team.
“It means a lot to me just to have a fresh start and have an opportunity to write my own story,” Howard said. “I don’t think people understood the fact that I got traded to L.A., and now I had a chance to really choose my own destiny, and this is the place where I chose and I’m happy about it.”