Dancing with the stars per Daniella Karagach and her partner from season 33, Dwight Howardhave to overcome some differences this season – namely size differences.

Karagach, 31, is 5'3″ tall, while Howard, 38, is an incredible 6'1″. With the distance between the two being more than 18″ (45cm), the pair faced some challenges when rehearsing their first dance in the competition.

“We started rehearsals late and I had the choreography already planned. And when we first got into the studio to actually start rehearsing, I realized I had to pretty much change my entire choreography because I couldn't do it around him,” Karagach told exclusively We weekly after the premiere on Tuesday, September 17. “He was so big, I couldn't get past him. … So I had to change pretty much everything. It was crazy.”

Howard is not the first basketball player Karagach has entered the ballroom with. She won her first Mirrorball trophy together with NBA alumna Iman Shumpert during the 30th season of DWTS in 2021. Karagach said Us that her success with the 34-year-old, 6-foot-5 Shumpert does not mean she feels under pressure to win again with Howard.

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“They're two different people,” she explained. “First of all, this guy is much bigger. So it's a completely different challenge, but he's also a completely different person. So no expectations.”

Although Karagach doesn’t expect to win just because she’s dating an athlete, she and Howard impressed the judges with their first dance of the season, a salsa to “This Is How We Do It” by Montell JordanThe duo achieved the second highest score of the evening after Chandler Kinney And Brandon Armstrong and were one of only two pairs to receive an eight.

“It’s like watching a giraffe and a gazelle dancing together,” said the judge Derek Hough joked after the performance.

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Howard said Us that it was “rewarding” to see his and Karagach's hard work reflected in their results, but he would not be caught resting on his laurels.

“This is a great opportunity for us to celebrate and say, 'Hey, this is what we have to do every week to win and keep moving forward,'” he said. “We don't want to get stuck in this. We want to keep going. Celebrate tonight and tomorrow it's time to work.”

No one would doubt Howard's work ethic when looking at his NBA resume, which includes one championship win and three Defensive Player of the Year awards. He currently plays for the Taiwan Mustangs of the Asian Tournament, but has previously lent his talents to the Orlando Magic, Los Angeles Lakers, Houston Rockets, Atlanta Hawks, Charlotte Hornets, Washington Wizards and Philadelphia 76ers in the NBA.

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Howard said Us that practicing for DWTS is in some ways “similar” to basketball training, but he pointed out that dancing “works a lot more muscles.”

“It's a lot of repetition, but it's a lot of fun. Every little step of the routine, you're trying to achieve perfection,” he said, before praising Karagach. “When she does it, it's perfect. Every little pose is perfect. Right down to her fingernails, they're perfect. It's just crazy to see. I love it.”

Dancing with the stars airs simultaneously on ABC and Disney+ on Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET. You can stream episodes the next day on Disney+.

With reporting by Carly Konsker