Subscribe
Follow Us
After another disappointing season for Dwight Howard, the eight-time All-Star is facing some of his past demons. He went on TNT's Inside the NBA last week and admitted that he was disinterested at points this year, and he knows that his reputation among fans has deteriorated lately.
In a more recent interview with ESPN's Jackie MacMullan, Howard discussed a number of topics, including his frustration with Rockets general manager Daryl Morey and his uncertain future moving forward.
He also recounted his tumultuous time in Los Angeles. When MacMullan asked Howard why he chose not to re-sign with the Lakers, he brought up the darkest moment from his time with the prestigious franchise.
Rather than opt for surgery for a torn labrum, Dwight listened to outside influences saying he should play through it. It ended up being a huge mistake.
From MacMullan's interview with D12:
“I'll never forget the game we played against the Celtics in Boston [on Feb. 7, 2013]. I hadn't practiced for a while — I had just been working on the treadmill. But I played in Boston. We got blown out. Coach [Mike D'Antoni] still had me in when we were down 30. After the game, I'm walking off the court and a Lakers fan throws his jersey and hits me in the face. It was my name on that jersey. I will never forget that the rest of my life.”
Even when you're playing on the highest level of basketball in the world, moments like this can have a huge hit on your confidence and ego. Howard always yearned for respect and love from the Lakers faithful, and while the excitement was there at the beginning, it just wasn't in the cards.
[button width=”full” button size=”bigger” color=”custom” align=”center” textcolor=”#ffffff” texthcolor=”#ffffff” bgcolor=”#8b0000″ link=”https://clutchpoints.com/report-dwight-howard-assumed-leaving-rockets-mike-dantoni-hired-coach/”]NEXT: Dwight Howard ‘assumed’ to be leaving Rockets if Mike D’Antoni is hired as coach[/button]
