Being an Atlanta sports fan is not easy. The heartbreaks are endless, the disappointment always feels familiar, and the buzz is hardly palpable.

The only teams that have made any significant strides in recent years are the Atlanta Dream and the Atlanta Hawks. Truth be told, the Dream could actually be Atlanta’s best team in the last decade. They’ve made multiple WNBA Finals appearances, but even in true Atlanta fashion, they came up short of winning. Their reward: They’ll play their next two seasons at a college gymnasium. (That would be excusable had their Finals home games not been pushed to the suburbs, but that’s another story for another day.)

So it comes down to the Hawks. They’ve been great at social media and branding in the last few years. The team itself even went on a historic run in January 2015 when they were undefeated for the entire calendar month, which was part of a franchise record 19-game winning streak. The franchise’s fatal flaw—no star player—is what ultimately led to their demise that season just as it has in seasons before and after.

But I’m confident all of that will change this year with the addition of Dwight Howard. As a true Hawks fan, I’m confident Dwight Howard will take Atlanta to new heights, and there are a few reasons why.

1) He Understands What's Important

I think LeBron finally winning a championship for Cleveland not only put a lot of people (i.e. underachieving superstars) on notice but also showed people that anything is possible in the NBA. Howard was reluctant to come to Atlanta the year he chose Houston because he felt like he didn’t have a chance to win and compete here, but now that he’s 30, he seems to understand how great it would be for his legacy and his hometown if he could do the same thing LeBron did.

2) He's Owned Up to His Mistakes

One conversation can only go so far, but I did watch Howard’s conversation on “Inside the NBA” after they were eliminated from the playoffs this summer. His attitude to me was different. In the fascinating conversation with Kenny and Chuck, Howard owned up to his shortcomings in Houston. He announced he was committed to not being eliminated early and was already back to working out in preparation for the next season (before the free agency period even). In that conversation he also received sound advice, criticism, and feedback from legends as well as finally accepting his identity as a player (not the villain type).

3) He's Back Home!

Howard is in a dream scenario in Atlanta. For starters, he’s finally with a coach who has a championship pedigree and experience; not to take anything from Kevin McHale, but winning as a player vs. as a coach are two different things. He’s playing in the easier conference and is finally the unanimous leader of the team just like he was in Orlando. He’s playing with a coach who understands the importance of defense and also how to keep the big man happy (see Tim Duncan). Then, throw in the home-town discount plus the cultural and marketing benefits to being in Atlanta, and Howard finally has a playground where he can have fun without being a bully.

4) He's in Fighting Shape

He hasn’t been great or healthy since he left Orlando, which is actually kind of a good thing. Yes, his health is a concern, but to put it simply from a glass half-full perspective: Those years of not trying in LA or Houston resulted in little-to-no wear & tear on his body. At 30, he’s still young and a prime age. At 30 with the effort he’s given to his last two teams, he’s got the body of a 28-year-old with the mind of a veteran.

5) He's in it for the Long Haul

Another big reason I’m excited about Dwight Howard coming home to Atlanta is his three-year deal. Yes, signing Howard cost us Horford (still not happy about him leaving), but at a great price and three-year deal, it shows me that Howard is not in it for the money one, and two, he understands that what he’s trying to accomplish in Atlanta will take time and he’s finally ready to put in the effort to win it all, even if it takes a couple of years.

6) He's STILL 'Superman'

Lastly, very few guys in the league can match up with LeBron, but Howard is the only one who can do it in ways that other guys can’t. Grabbing a rebound off the glass is an ability that only two to three guys in this league have, and two of them are mentioned in the previous sentence. There are only a handful of guys (if that) in the league more physically intimidating than LeBron James; Howard is one of them. Howard has beaten LeBron before, which goes a long way from a psychological perspective. And Howard has remained relevant since leaving Orlando for one reason only: He’s the only true center prototype in the league. Now that he’s in a scenario that allows him to produce offensively and set the tone defensively, it will make being the big guy cool again.

That thing I said about the buzz surrounding Atlanta sports barely being palpable is absolutely true (not all our fault when we’re rarely rewarded with any significant accomplishments), but Howard will put seats in the stands. He’s local. People are excited about us finally having a super star. And he’s larger than life, both physically and metaphorically. As someone who’s been lucky enough to sit in the lower bowl at Philips Arena, I can assure you that an empty stadium makes physically gifted world-class athletes look really small. Howard will be impossible to miss at Philips this season, and his size and personality are exactly the things Atlanta needs to make Philips feel like a cozy, energized college basketball arena.

The fact that he’s been working on his mid-range and free-throws (see Twitter videos) are an added bonus.

In the words of 2 Chainz, who’s another Atlanta star, “Watch out!”