Dwight Howard was the best center in the NBA once upon a time. Over the past few years, pundits have been quite harsh on Howard as his career has been on the decline. This season, Howard has been having himself a comeback for the ages as he excels with the Los Angeles Lakers during his second stint with the team. Howard has been hitting three-pointers and continues to do great things on the court both offensively and defensively.

On Monday night, Howard recorded 21 points and 15 rebounds in a blowout win over the Cleveland Cavaliers. It was a vintage Howard performance that had Lakers fans excited for what’s to come in the second half of the year. 

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“It’s just about manifestation,” Howard said per Ryan Ward of ClutchPoints. “I just felt like coming into this season, this was going to be our year. It was going to be our year and everybody had that same attitude. We’re going to work hard and prepare ourselves for a championship and every day we feel like that’s the championship. Every practice, every time we’re in the weight room, it’s always about a championship. That’s the mentality we want to have. We want to set a standard here in L.A. Every day is about winning a championship.”

Howard has helped the Lakers propel themselves to first place in the Western Conference. They currently boast a record of 33-7.