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As one of the team's longest-tenured players, he's played a key role in the Wizards' run as one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference. The center, who was inserted into the starting line-up after Etan Thomas suffered a sprained ankle, has been a nightly double-double threat and the results are in the team's record: Washington is 11-2 with Haywood in the starting line-up.
Haywood took some time out for a quick Q-and-A session following a recent practice.
Haywood throws down a dunk over the Bucks front court at Verizon Center.
Mitchell Layton/NBAE/Getty Images |
You have been playing great basketball lately. What do you attribute the team’s success and your recent performance to?
I think I attribute the record to the whole team playing better as a unit and Gilbert Arenas really stepping up his play that month. I attribute my good play to just getting minutes and being able to go out there and play through mistakes.
Some NBA writers say that you are playing the best basketball of your career and that you’re a legitimate double-double threat when you’re in the middle. How does that make you feel?
It makes me feel good whenever I hear positive things like that about myself, but I know that I’m not a finished product and I have to go our there and continue to work hard. I just hope that I can continue to go out there and play thirty minutes a game because I feel like that’s what I deserve and I feel it will help the team when I play that many minutes.
This is your sixth season in Washington. How much has changed for you as an NBA player over the past six years?
A lot has changed. I’ve seen the team change, I’ve seen management change, I’ve seen players come and go. So I’ve seen a lot of change since I’ve been here. One good thing is that we have a lot of good guys in here right now.
Since the 2003-04 season, when the team missed the playoffs, it seems like each year there has been improvement in expectations of this team. Where do you see this team going this season?
This team is going to go as far as Gilbert Arenas takes us. Right now it’s too early to say if we’re going to be this seed or that seed in the playoffs – are we going to go to the first or second round. It’s too early to tell that, because a lot of things could happen from now until the end of the season. I feel we’re a good team. I feel getting to the playoffs is something that we should do, not hope to do. Once we get to the playoffs, we need to win a couple rounds – maybe make it to the conference finals.
What’s the locker room like compared to previous seasons? It seems like a genuinely fun locker room to be around.
Since I’ve been here, the last couple of years the locker room has always been fun – from when Larry Hughes and Jared Jefferies were here to now with guys like DeShawn Stevenson and Caron Butler, so the one thing the Wizards have done over the last couple of years is they’ve really went out and tried to get good basketball players and good guys.
In terms of continuity, how does it feel to look and see guys like Antawn, Gilbert, and yourself, knowing you’ve all played together for several years? How important is that to building a good team?
Continuity is always good, because when you have guys you’ve played with for a certain amount of years – you know what they are going to do and they know what you are going to do. When you have that, you develop that chemistry. When you have guys shuttling in and out every year, you’re trying to figure out somebody different – that can lead to disarray.
You’re a Charlotte native, but since you have been in DC for six years, is this pretty much your adopted home?
I guess you can say DC is my adopted home. I like Charlotte a lot too though, so give or take. I still don’t know Maryland too well, though. I know Maryland pretty well, but because most of my friends live in Virginia – and I live in Virginia – I know Virginia and DC pretty well and Maryland I know a little bit.
Who were your favorite NBA players growing up?
John Starks, Patrick Ewing and Magic Johnson will always be my three favorite players of all time. With John Starks, I look at how much he overcame and how people were so negative towards him and he was still able to go out there and do it at a high level. I see a lot of that in myself, so I love what he did for basketball and I always enjoy watching him – he always gave it 110 percent.
Haywood has pulled down 10 or more rebounds seven times this season.
Mitchell Layton/NBAE/Getty Images |
Yes, growing up I always loved Patrick Ewing too. I was a huge Knicks fan. He had a lot of big games, he was a great player, and his resume speaks for itself.
A lot of people don’t know that you played football when you were younger. What position did you play?
When I played football, I played tight end and offensive line. I wasn’t really good at either one, I was just doing it to stay in shape for basketball. The JV football coach was the basketball coach.
A couple of years ago you did some broadcasting the Washington Mystics. Is broadcasting something you want to do when you’re done playing?
Yes, when I get done playing, I’d love to go into commentating. I enjoy watching the game of basketball; I enjoy commentating on the game of basketball. I think when you’re a really good commentator; you can give fans the insight into basketball that they didn’t know. Anytime you can do that it’s an added bonus. I critique commentators all the time when I watch games now. I know the ones that are good, the ones I like, and the ones I think could be doing a little bit better.
Who are your all-time favorite NBA commentators?
I like Bill Walton, because he gives you a totally different perspective that what you normally get from commentators. I think probably the best commentators are probably Doug Collins and Hubie Brown. They are really like teachers out there; they are teaching fans the game of basketball and what to look for. At the college level, I like Dickie V.; sometimes he can get a little too hyped, but I like Dick Vitale and I like Digger Phelps a lot too.
When you’re done playing, if a TV station calls and gives you a choice between commentating NBA or college, which would you choose?
I’d probably do college. The seasons a little bit shorter – not as many games. I’d still be able to go out there and do my thing with the commentating and at the same time, I’d be able to be at home with my family spending time with them too.
Since you played at North Carolina for fours years, I’m guessing that would help you a lot.
Definitely- playing at North Carolina for fours years definitely helped me a lot. I played in the college game for fours years, so I know a lot about it, so I have a lot to say about it.
When you’re not here at Verizon Center or on the road, how do you spend your free time?
Off the court, I’m low-key. If I’m not practicing or playing videogames, I’m talking on the phone with my family and friends. I like to read – I love reading biographies and autobiographies. I think people’s lives are interesting. I’m on the computer a lot checking my email or just surfing the net –seeing what’s going on in the world. I got to stay up on what’s current. That’s pretty much it – resting, napping and doing stuff like that.