Intro:

Center Dwight Howard was formally introduced in Houston after spurning the Los Angeles Lakers to sign with the Rockets.

Hall of Fame centre Hakeem Olajuwon and China's Yao Ming were among those on hand to celebrate his signing as he was greeted by some of the brightest stars in team history.

Script:

SOUNDBITE: (English) Dwight Howard, Houston Rockets Centre:

"I'm just so happy to be here, man. This is an unbelievable opportunity for myself and for this city and this team. And I can't wait until I really start playing basketball, but also get out in the community and make a difference. And I think that's one of the biggest reasons why I'm here, is to really make a difference, on and off the court. And I have a great opportunity to do that here and I'm just looking forward to it."

SOUNDBITE: (English) Kevin McHale, Houston Rockets Head Coach:

"He's had seasons where he's been the most dominant big man in the NBA. And he's in his prime and so, can you improve? Yeah. Will we improve things? Absolutely, but I really, I'm looking forward to getting to work with him. I don't have a checklist right now. We're going to get together and start working and it's my job to put him in situations to succeed. And that should be easy. The guy, you look at his career numbers, you're not taking about a guy who's not a well established player. He's been, like I said, he's been the dominant big man in the NBA for multiple years."

SOUNDBITE: (English) Dwight Howard, Houston Rockets Centre:

"You know, we just come out and play every night and have that goal of winning a championship. We have a great opportunity. I'm not going to get up here and say we're going to five championships. I'm not going to do that. But I think if we really dedicate ourselves and sacrifice everything we got for a championship, at the end of the season we should be holding up the trophy."

SOUNDBITE: (English) Dwight Howard, Houston Rockets Centre:

"It's very humbling to have these guys come here and be a part of the press conference. It just shows how much this organisation is like a big family. These guys have a lot of things they could be doing today, but they chose to be here and to celebrate this day with me. So, it's very humbling, it means a lot."