Houston Rockets center Dwight Howard said Thursday that he believes he could play another 10 or 11 years in the NBA.

Howard, 29, could become an unrestricted free agent next summer should he choose to opt out the last year of his four-year, $87.5 million contract with the Rockets that he signed after the 2012-13 season, according to ESPN.

“There is no need to live in the future," said Howard. “I'm not a guy who lives in the future. The only moment that matters is right now and what we accomplish as a team. It starts with training camp, today is the second day, tomorrow is the third day and we just got to work on getting better every day.”

“There is no need for me to focus on anything that's going to happen next summer,” Howard added. “My job is to focus on how I can help this team be the best team in the NBA and win a championship.”

Last season, Howard only managed to play a career low 41 games for the Rockets, who made it to the Western Conference Finals before getting eviscerated by the eventual champions Golden State Warriors, 4-1.

About to enter his 12th season in the NBA, Howard believes he could maintain his level of play for years to come.

“Y'all acting like I'm about to retire,” Howard said. “I mean, I feel good. I'm 29 years old regardless of me being in the league for 12 years, I'm fairly young. I got about a good 10 years left in me. I'm going to give everything I got for these 10, 11 years I got left.”

If Howard does manage to play another 11 seasons, he would break the NBA record for most seasons played, which is 21 and is currently held by Celtics legend Robert Parish, per NBC Sports.

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