NBA big man Dwight Howard was once one of the best players in basketball. During his days in Orlando, he dominated the court with an intense interior presence and an unforgiving defensive edge.
Sadly, by the time his run with the Magic ended, D12 was already in the early stages of decline. What followed would be several years of bouncing around before finally landing with the Lakers in 2019.
After signing on that summer, he played his role to perfection all season long, helping them capture a title in what was one of the strangest seasons in NBA history.
In a recent interview with Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson on the All the Smoke podcast, Howard recently looked back on that run and how it played out for him.
Dwight Howard Reveals The Awakening He Had With Kurt Rambis Before Signing With The Lakers In 2019
As he detailed on the pod, Dwight was given a really harsh and blunt reality check by Rambis (who works closely with lakers owner Jeanie Buss) before signing his contract. He knew how the Lakers felt about him then and still chose to sign, a clear sign that he was humbled and ready to accept his role.
(via All the Smoke podcast):
“Kurt Rambis said to me, ‘You’re not Dwight Howard anymore,’” he said. “It really hit me like damn… I just gotta shut my mouth and do what I’m asked to do. That was real hard.”
While Rambis didn’t make any attempt to soften the quote, he wasn’t exactly wrong with his analysis. At that time, Howard wasn’t nearly the player he used to be, and it wasn’t really up for debate.
With LeBron James and Anthony Davis, Rambis had to make sure that Dwight knew his role and wouldn’t get in the way of what the team was trying to do. While he was far from their best player that year, he more than delivered in his role and made a huge impact for the ball club off the bench.
Today, Howard is still unsigned as he canvasses the league for another shot, but nobody has forgotten what he did for the Lakers in 2020, and it will no doubt help his odds of getting picked up before the season begins later this month.
