Dwight Howard doesn’t like being the bad guy, but he’s learning to deal with it one day at a time, especially when it comes to the hecklers in opposing arenas.
Talking with Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports, Howard — who is averaging 17 points and 12 rebounds a game — said he takes the heckling from fans all in stride.
“I don’t take it a negative way,” Howard told Yahoo Sports. “I think it’s all positive. If I wasn’t doing anything right or wasn’t playing basketball the way I was in the past, nobody would ever talk about me.
“Good, bad or indifferent I am going to remain the same person no matter how many times I get talked about or beat up or hit. I’m never going to change.”
Howard has been taking verbal abuse from fans for the better part of four-years now, starting with his bitter departure from the Orlando Magic in 2012 and the Los Angeles Lakers in ’13.
“Orlando people are upset that I left without them really knowing what was going on then,” Howard said. “I had a situation in L.A. where people swore up and down that I went out there and played like crap, which is crazy. It just made me realize that I shouldn’t focus on the negative stuff. There are always going to be people trying to pull you down or pull you away from what your purpose is.
“I realize now it’s a lot bigger than basketball. I’m not going to allow no one or nobody to stop me from accomplishing what I want to accomplish on and off the floor.”
Howard won’t be playing many back-to-backs, so he should probably get used to the fan conversations.