When Dwight Howard was selected No. 1 overall by the Orlando Magic in the 2004 NBA Draft, the 18-year-old was just months removed from making the decision to forego college after a decorated high school career. But he was anything but a typical high school kid.

His time at Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy rewarded him with a slew of national honors, including the Gatorade National Player of the Year. His thousand-watt smile shined on draft night, and what followed was an eight-year tour du force, capturing nearly every major award the NBA had to offer and forcing himself into NBA record books.

But the 2009 NBA Finals was long ago, and the eight-time All-Star is now getting familiar with his sixth different team.

Six different organizations means six different coaches, six different cultures, six different cities, six different teams and a whole lot of teammates along the way.

Through the big man's journey, a less-than-stellar reputation has followed him from team to team, and locker room to locker room.

Howard joined the Wizards Talk Podcast to share the evolution of his approach with Chris Miller.

The 32-year-old mentioned that he spent much of his time in the NBA worrying too much about what others thought of him and tried to be someone he wasn't.

With age comes maturity and perspective.

"Why would I change who I am as a person to appease other people? I think who I am as a person has gotten me to where I am today," said Howard.

"When I'm enjoying the game and I'm having fun, that's when I dominate the most."

Howard spent just the 2016-17 season with the Hawks, but faced the Wizards four times during the regular season and in the First Round of the playoffs, eventually falling in six games.

The 2017-18 campaign then took Howard to Charlotte for a year where the Hornets took three of four games from Washington during the regular season, including a wire-to-wire overtime victory in November.

Going to head-to-head on such a regular basis leads to a familiarity and comfort level.

"The defensive end is something that I thought was kind of like a weak point when we played them [Washington] in the playoffs, but I think this season that will totally change," said Howard.

The eight-time NBA All-Star was sure to comment on an offense he'll be joining which averaged over 106 points per game a season ago.

"Offensively we're going to be a monster. We have John, it starts with him. He's going to be able to provide instant offense for everybody with the way he passes the ball. A pick and roll with me and Bradley? You've got to really pick your poison."

As for how the newcomer feels his team should fare this season, he put it bluntly.

"I really believe that we can be one of the top three teams in the East."

Washington opens its 2018-19 season Oct. 18 at Capital One Arena against Miami.

Listen to the full episode of Wizards Talk below.