Dwight Howard believes working with Hakeem Olajuwon on his game is a better fit than Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

"People talked about Kareem [Abdul-Jabbar] and working with him," Howard said. "But I'm not a 7-footer. I felt like working with Kareem, I'd have to change my game. Working with Hakeem – who did it with quickness, speed, explosiveness – that's more to my game; that's more where I want to be.

"My best year was in 2010, after working out with Dream for a summer. He's in my backyard now, always talking to me, always pushing me to get better.

"That's no knock on Kareem, but I felt like Hakeem will be better for me."