Sixers' Dwight Howard Loves Having Fans Back in South Philly

Dwight Howard never let the lack of Philadelphia 76ers fans at the Wells Fargo Center stop him from having a good time. Every time he took the floor at home, Howard pretended to pump up a crowd that didn't exist to make the games in an empty arena feel as real as possible as he feeds off of the fans' energy.

But at this point, Howard no longer has to pretend there are fans in the stands. While the Wells Fargo Center still isn't packing in 20,000-plus people just yet, the city of Philadelphia has allowed a little over 3,000 fans in the building for the last few games.

As expected, Howard was in his glory. No matter where he's at, on the bench, around the NBA's 'cool-off' station behind the basket, on the court, Howard finds ways to interact with the crowd. After Tuesday night's game against the New York Knicks, Sixers head coach Doc Rivers mentioned that he believes the fans' presence fuels Howard and helps him play better.

"I think the fans help; he loves an audience," Rivers said. And to no surprise, the head coach was spot on. Following Wednesday night's game against the Milwaukee Bucks, Howard expressed his appreciation for the crowd.

“I am so thankful,” he said. “I’ve been loving every minute of having the fans in the stadium. It means so much to me. For me, I know that everybody’s been at home during COVID. Now they get to see their team play. I just try to provide some energy and get the crowd into it because we miss these guys. We miss our fans. We miss them at the games.”

Sometime soon, the Sixers could have even more fans added into the mix as the city is expected to raise the minimum from a little over 3,000 fans in the arena to a little over 5,000. For the 76ers, that's a great sign as they always tend to play better in front of their own audience. For Howard, specifically, he'll surely enjoy it even more.

“It brings me so much joy and energy to see the crowd," he continued. "I’m grateful that the fans have been very appreciative of my hard work and energy, and effort. When I get on the court, it’s like I gotta hold myself to a higher standard because all the fans, they’re looking for me to come out and play with energy and effort every night.”

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_ & Instagram: @JGrassoNBA.