Dwight Howard has been a part of the Philadelphia 76ers just for a few weeks but he is already saying the right things. Earlier this week, Dwight did his introductory press conference and had nothing but nice things to say about the 76ers and their two star players, Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons.

Starting with Joel Embiid, Howard holds a high opinion of the starting center for the Sixers and compared him to himself during his prime years with the Magic. Howard, now 34 years old and a seasoned NBA veteran will certainly be able to provide some much needed help for the Sixers’ young core. Veteran leadership has always been a missing piece with the 76ers, even more so after the complete failure of Al Horford this past season.

Howard continued his praise for the 76ers by going as far as one could go on the compliment scale, comparing Ben Simmons to LeBron James.

“It’s a very real comparison and I’ve been saying for a couple years that Ben Simmons is a young LeBron who’s developing an overall game. I love the way he plays, I love how unselfish he is and how mean he can be, too, on the other teams. And that’s important.” 

Howard continued…

“When you have your point guard coming down and dunking on people, flexing, getting big rebounds, talking trash, doing all those things, I think it just drives you to want to be better. Watching him over the years, I see it. He has an opportunity to be one of the greatest to ever play the game and I’m glad to have an opportunity to give him some things that can help him along the way.”

Music to my ears. I couldn’t agree more with Dwight. He’s absolutely correct. During a successful offseason where the Sixers were able to acquire both Danny Green and Seth Curry, their offense is now, finally, being catered to the strengths of Ben Simmons.

Dwight also touched on how he ended up in Philadelphia and gave a ton of credit to Doc Rivers, Rajon Rondo, and Elton Brand.

‘This is where I need to be right now. This is where my journey has called me, to Philly.’ And I was super happy that Doc called me, gave me the opportunity. I told him yes, I told him I would come. I talked to Rondo. Rondo was probably a big contributor, just talking to him and the relationship he had with Doc. So I would say Doc and also (general manager) Elton Brand.”

Anytime you mention Ben Simmons and LeBron James in the same sentence it’s going to cause a stir on social media. Dwight, much like myself, doesn’t seem to think it’s an attention grab or too far fetched to mention both players in the same sentence.

Check out last week’s weekly segment on The Daily Ticket with Sean Brace where we touched on Howards comments and a bunch of other quick updates from the Philly sports world.

Mandatory Credit: Daryl Morey Instagram