In a chat with Gilbert Arenas on his podcast, former NBA big man Dwight Howard opened up about his storied career. Speaking on his tenure with Kobe Bryant and the Lakers, Howard revealed that it was not an easy pairing and that he never wanted to be there in the first place.
“It was difficult playing with Kobe. It’s the expectation of winning and then it’s like everybody expected me and Kobe to be the new Kobe and Shaq,” said Howard.” I’m just coming off an injury, I’m still dealing with all the mental sh*t from Orlando and now I gotta go to LA and I’m playing with Kobe Bryant. I watched him play, they beat us in the Finals. I was already pissed because I had to go to LA and nobody knew I didn’t want to go to the Lakers. I wanted to beat the Lakers, they just beat us in the Finals. I wanted to go to Brooklyn and start my whole career over. But I got sent to LA and it didn’t work out and I made an emotional decision to leave.”
Dwight Howard gets real about playing on the Lakers with Kobe Bryant. pic.twitter.com/jQt9fttvLV
— Gil’s Arena (@GilsArenaShow) August 29, 2024
Dwight Howard was drafted 1st overall by the Magic in 2004 and he quickly rose the ranks to become one of the NBA’s top big men. His best season came in 2011 when he averaged 22.9 points, 14.1 rebounds, and 2.4 blocks per game on 59% shooting. He was second in MVP voting that year, just behind Derrick Rose.
It wasn’t long after that when Howard forced his way out and landed with the Lakers. The trade, which involved four different teams, was supposed to put the Purple and Gold back in play for the Larry O’Brien trophy. Instead, it only led to disaster.
Howard, who was dealing with injuries, was still trying to move on from his falling out with the Magic and he wasn’t able to start his Lakers tenure with a clean slate. At the time, Dwight was not ready to deal with the pressure of playing with Kobe, who was famously demanding of his teammates.
The result was a subpar performance from Howard, whose stats dipped across the board. Despite leading the Magic to the Finals years earlier, the star big man could not meet expectations on the Lakers and averaged a modest stat line of 17.1 points, 12.4 rebounds, and 2.4 blocks per game. The Lakers, who had signed Dwight, Kobe, and Steve Nash that summer, finished the season with just 45 wins (good for 7th in the West).
Dwight never meshed with Kobe or the Lakers fandom and when he had a chance to leave it behind in 2014, he took it. That summer was when Howard signed with the Rockets and it started the beginning of a miserable stretch of basketball for the Lakers, who were bottom-feeders until LeBron’s arrival in 2018.
Fortunately, Dwight got a chance to redeem himself years later. In 2020, at 34 years old, Howard re-joined the Lakers to accept a role off the bench. This time, he was playing under LeBron James and Anthony Davis and was instrumental in helping them capture the franchise’s 17th NBA championship.
Today, Dwight Howard is no longer active in the NBA but his story is widely told as one of perseverance, sacrifice, and determination. Right when things were at their lowest point, Howard managed to find the greatest success and it forever altered the course of his career.
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