Dwight Howard Wants to Win Title and Defensive Player of the Year

Freddie Mercury and Dwight Howard would have gotten along quite well.

They're both outspoken personalities, leading figures within their respective fields and men who don't settle for anything less than they feel they deserve. 

Can't you just hear "I Want It All" blaring in the back of your mind every time you start thinking about Dwight? Well, you certainly should be able to after seeing his modest goals for the 2013-14 campaign.

When asked by Rockets.com's Jason Friedman about his individual goals while wearing red, Howard responded with, "I just want to win a championship and Defensive Player of the Year and get back on top." 

Nothing big. 

While he's at it, why doesn't D12 just wish to be the lead singer of his band No. 1 option in the Houston Rockets offense instead of James Harden?

I don't really have a problem with his desire to win a championship while earning the premier defensive award that the NBA offers. It's the last clause that gets me. "Get back on top" implies that he was already there. 

Are we talking about overall player rankings? Supremacy among the Association's top centers? Team-based dominance? 

If it's the former, LeBron James needs to treat that statement like it's fight music. The second would be acceptable, and the last would be borderline blasphemous coming off the Los Angeles Lakers' 2012-13 campaign. 

But again, at least he's dreaming big. 

Howard needs to have a season that's individually dominant in order to regain popularity. It wasn't too long ago that he was one of the more lovable NBA players, but a few seasons of turbulence and drawn-out Dwightmares haven't done a lot for his universal appeal. 

The big man is now in the perfect situation to thrive, which means that those lofty goals might not actually be out of reach. And as B/R's Michael Pina suggests, it's on him to play well enough that the Rockets are true title contenders.