Sixers guard Shake Milton caught the eye of Dwight Howard in workouts
It’s time for training camp in the NBA as the 2020-21 season inches closer to its beginning on Dec. 22. The Philadelphia 76ers are looking to forget about a disappointing finish to the 2019-20 season and they have made a few additions to their roster to help.
One of those additions is 16-year veteran and NBA champion Dwight Howard who will be looking to fill the role of the backup big man as well as being a mentor on the team.
With individual workouts beginning on Tuesday, Howard has had the chance to meet some of his new teammates and he was impressed by them.
However, there was one player that stood out and that was young guard Shake Milton.
“Just being here for a couple of days and working out with the guys,” Howard said with a smile. “Shake, I like him. I like his attitude and his demeanor on the court. He works extremely hard so I’m looking forward to playing with him.”
Milton earned the respect of his teammates and others around the league with his strong play in the previous season as well as earning the starting point guard spot in the bubble. This comes after he suffered an early-season injury that held him out for a while and he had to battle back to have the successful season that he had.
“I think it went well,” Milton said of his season. “I think I saw things that I can improve on but I also saw areas in which my game grew. I kind of just tried to take that momentum into the offseason and hopefully continued on into the season,. I’m feeling healthy I’m feeling confident. I’m just excited to see what this team can do.”
Now that he is fully healthy going into this training camp and this season, he is excited to see how far both he and the team can go.
“A lot of times going in, I was injured, come into the preseason some way so it kind of kept me out and I was always feeling like I had to play catch up but now I feel like my body is feeling good,” he added. “I’m healthy, and I just feel a little bit more comfortable, just moving out there, and the way I’m getting my shots how I’m shooting the ball just an overall feel for the game I just feel better.”
Milton’s work ethic is something that stands out to Howard. That effort that he puts in is something that can be felt throughout the team. It is rubbing off on the rest of the Sixers and it creates a good team environment.
“Everybody’s been great so far,” Howard added. “I’m looking forward to playing with everyone. Everyone has been amazing to work with so far. Everybody wants to learn, everyone wants to get better, we have a very positive team.”
