Dwight Howard will never bet against his former Lakers teammates. Even after all these years, Howard is confident enough in that group to pick them in a series against the Durant-era Warriors — with everyone in their prime.
“Who gonna check LeBron?” asked Howard. “All of us in our primes, we sweeping! You got me, Melo, Russ, [Anthony Davis], Rondo, and LeBron. We got all the rebounds!”
https://twitter.com/DwightHoward/status/1794018760069660885
The 2019 Warriors were in the last stage of the Kevin Durant era and they were looking to go out with a bang after winning back-to-back titles. In response to rising threats across the league, they added DeMarcus Cousins and created a starting five that was overwhelmingly feared at the time. They won 57 games despite Cousins’ injury so, with all their guys healthy and their best, it would have been even harder to defeat them.
Meanwhile, in the years following a championship run in 2020 with LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Kyle Kuzma, Dwight Howard, and others, the Lakers hoped to return to a competitive state after bringing them their championship core in the summer of 2021. With Russell Westbrook, Carmelo Anthony, and Dwigtht Howard in Lakers uniforms expectations were high going into the season.
They finished 11th in the West with just 33 wins all year and the campaign was chalked up as a failure by everyone involved. According to Dwight, however, that team would have been unstoppable had they all been at a different point in their careers. With two MVPs in LeBron James and Russell Westbrook, and three All-Stars in Carmelo Anthony, Dwight Howard, and Anthony Davis, the 2021-22 Lakers with the players in their prime would have been utterly dominant — if for no other reason than Dwight Howard.
At his best Howard was an absolute beast and was impossible to stop under the rim. During his best statistical season, he averaged 22.9 points, 14.1 rebounds, and 2.4 blocks per game on 59% shooting for the Magic. So if you add that production in the frontcourt next to a peak version of LeBron and Davis, it’s hard to imagine how anyone would slow them down.
The 2018-19 Warriors would have as good a chance as any team to take them down in a hypothetical matchup but even against a dynasty with everyone healthy and DeMarcus Cousins in his prime alongside Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, and Klay Thompson that Lakers squad with LeBron, Davis, and Dwight would be hard to beat.
Dwight Howard Says Lakers Could Have Won Three Titles In A Row
Dwight has only played three seasons for the Lakers, but his title run there gave him an unbreakable bond with the franchise. In fact, he never wanted to leave after winning the championship in 2020. It was only after they refused to outbid the 76ers that summer when he was forced to look out for himself.
When the Lakers refused to give him the contract he felt he had earned, the 76ers lured him away with a guaranteed deal for the veteran’s minimum. He, along with Kyle Kuzma, Rajon Rondo, and others was let go and replaced with younger role-players.
Considering the Lakers have not come close to the championship since then, many argue to this day that they should have run it back instead of changing the roster so significantly. Dwight believes they could have won up to three championships had they kept the team together.
Before the end of his career, Howard was able to make one last stand for the Purple and Gold, and it was the only season he played with Russell Westbrook and Carmelo Anthony. That team never worked out given the age and miles of the players but had the Lakers been a few years earlier in bringing them together, NBA history could have played out a lot differently.
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