Superman Howard ready to leap tall buildings in Beijing

ORLANDO -- Magic center Dwight Howard might need a little extra room in his suitcase when he starts packing for Beijing and the 2008 Olympics next month.

Dwight Howard: 'I'm built to carry a load.' (Getty Images)

Howard probably will be bringing along the Superman cape that he wore when he won the NBA Slam Dunk Contest earlier this year, cementing his role as the best, most popular big man in the league today.

As the only true center on the USA Basketball 12-man roster -- and the one who missed the earlier minicamp recovering from a fractured sternum -- Howard is going to need all the special powers he can muster.

He won't have to carry this team of NBA superstars, but he won't be getting much relief when it comes to patrolling the wider Olympic lane.

"One of those other teams might try and throw some Kryptonite at us. I'll need the cape to block it," Howard said Tuesday afternoon after a workout at the Magic's practice facility.

Howard and his teammates will resume training July 21 in Las Vegas. They will leave for China the following week to train more. On Tuesday, USA Basketball added New Orleans center Tyson Chandler to the Las Vegas training sessions, but only as an alternate, insurance in case Howard gets re-injured.

"I'm not worried about anything happening to me. I've been cleared to practice and play. I'm good to go, getting these big guns (arms) back in shape," said Howard, grinning and flexing his massive shoulders and biceps. "I'm built to carry a load."

Howard, 22, quickly has become one of the NBA's iron men, playing in every game possible (328 consecutive in the regular season) since entering the league as the No. 1 pick in 2004. He finished the playoffs this spring against the Detroit Pistons with the sternum fracture, sustained during a sandwich hit between Jason Maxiell and Arron Afflalo.

He didn't learn of the fracture until the series ended when he returned to Orlando for an X-ray. He just thought it was bruised.

The Magic, like the USA Basketball team, don't provide him much roster help around the basket, playing last season without a true power forward, preferring a pair of small forwards like Hedo Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis. And even this summer, their big free-agent addition was another guard.

Howard is accustomed to being the lone sentry. He averaged 37.7 minutes, 20.7 points, a league-leading 14.2 rebounds and 2.1 blocked shots for the Magic this season.

His combination of size, strength and agility is unmatched in the NBA today, and the USA team is expecting him to dominate the boards again in Beijing.

The only other true frontcourt players on the roster are power forwards Chris Bosh and Carlos Boozer. The rest of the team is comprised of guards and rangy small forwards. While the roster strategy is built for the versatility often required in international competition, it also is risky.