Dwight Howard goes through drills in first Lakers practice

Lakers center Dwight Howard had his first practice with the team on Wednesday. (Noah Graham/Getty Images)

With the regular season less than a month away, the Los Angeles Lakers wanted to see what their new additions bring to the table and what they saw in new acquired center Dwight Howard shocked them, reports ESPN.com.

Howard went through a workout with had no apparent concerns about his surgically repaired back. Howard had back surgery in April and missed the final month of the season and the Orlando Magic's playoff series.

Howard "was dunking everything in sight," a source said to ESPN.com. "He looks like he can play in an NBA game today."

Howard will not play in the Lakers' preseason opener Oct. 7, but Howard said he wants to play in an exhibition or two before the season starts on Oct. 30.

"Hopefully, I'll be back for some preseason games," Howard said. "I think we're going to need it for chemistry and all that stuff. But, like I said, I'm not going to rush it. I'm going to continue to practice. We've had some great practices. Today was really good, so I'm happy."

"He worked just as much as everybody else, so that was good," Lakers forward Pau Gasol said. "I didn't expect that to happen today."