Houston Rockets star Dwight Howard has enjoyed his transition to the south after spending a forgettable and controversial year in Los Angeles with the Lakers.

"He is in a good place and back to being a dominating center in the league," forward Chandler Parsons said, according to Yahoo! Sports. "Everyone on our team and in our city has embraced his personality and taken him in and love him being in Houston ... I wouldn't want anyone else as my center."

Howard reportedly left around $30 million on the table when he left Los Angeles. Still, he will be making more than $20 million in the 2013-14 season alone.

Howard had somewhat of a slow start to the season with his new squad but he eventually settled in quite nicely. The veteran center, who has had a reputation for being a locker room headache at times, was seen laughing with his teammates after a game against Golden State.

"It took a couple games," Howard said, referring to the way he has picked up his game since the beginning of the season. "I said, 'OK, that's the first 20 games. I got those out of the way.' I see what this team needs me to do to be effective ... I understand that people want me to come down and score 30 points a night and 30 rebounds. That's not what it's going to take for us to win."

The 28 year old came into the league from high school and he now is a seven-time All Star. Although he has had his fair share of struggles offensively -- particularly when it comes to free throws -- he has remained a constant force on defense. He is a three-time defensive player of the year and has led the league in rebounds in five seasons.