Dwight Howard thought he would never play for the Los Angeles Lakers again after a disastrous 2012-13 campaign.
Howard came to L.A. still in the prime of his career, with the Lakers adding D12 to a roster that included Kobe Bryant and Steve Nash.
The Lakers had championship aspirations, but the season ended with a first-round exit after Bryant ruptured his Achilles at the end of the regular season. Dwight headed to the Houston Rockets after a tumultuous season full of internal drama, and he believed he would never return:
“When I left LA the first time, I said I can’t see myself going back to that team,” Howard told Shams Charania of The Athletic. “I was so mad and upset about how things went and how I was perceived, that I was like, ‘I’m done with LA. I can’t. I don’t want to play for the Lakers. I don’t want to hear the Lakers. I don’t want to hear about nothing dealing with LA.’ And then I had to really understand the power of forgiveness and that’s something every human being struggles with is forgiving. Whether you are in the wrong or someone else is in the wrong — forgiving.”
But Howard is indeed back in the City of Angels, and the Lakers are glad to have him.
Howard has helped anchor L.A.'s frontcourt as a rim-runner and an interior deterrent who is an excellent help defender in the paint,.
The veteran saw his minutes dwindle against the Houston Rockets, but Howard played big minutes during the Lakers' Western Conference Finals win over the Denver Nuggets. Howard consistently harassed Nuggets star center Nikola Jokic, even earning the starting nod in the final two games of the series.
It was not long ago Howard had nothing but loathing for the Lakers franchise. Now, he is on the verge of helping the Purple and Gold win its first title since 2010. Howard himself is back in the NBA Finals for the first time since 2009.
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