Getty Dwight Howard #12 of the Los Angeles Lakers gestures during the game with the Sacramento Kings at Staples Center on October 21, 2012 in Los Angeles, California. The Kings won 99-92.
Dwight Howard is a member of the Los Angeles Lakers and is looking to revive his career.
An eight-time NBA All-Star, Howard has averaged 17.4 points and 12.6 rebounds throughout his career.
Along with being the first pick in the 2004 NBA Draft by the Orlando Magic, Howard is an Olympic gold medalist. He helped lead the Magic to the 2009 NBA Finals where they were defeated by the Kobe Bryant-led Lakers.
Appearing on Hot 97’s Ebro In The Morning with Ebro Darden, Laura Stylez and Peter Roseberg, ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith weighed in on Howard’s impact on the Lakers.
“He’s been incredibly humble,” said Smith.
“He’s on a $2.6 million, one year, non-guaranteed deal. If he passes gas, they could let him go. Ok. This is it! If he don’t do it this time, his career is a wrap and I think that everybody knows. It’s like, without getting into his personal business, because I don’t do that; if you you know his personal business, you realize that a lot of the troubles that he causes, it’s because he deals with a lot personally.”
Howard, 33, is looking to return to next NBA season injury-free.
“I think I’ve done an excellent job of playing basketball my whole life,” Howard told me in June.
“My resume is something that, you know, I don’t really have to speak for. I’m happy that I’ve had the opportunity to play basketball. So, I think I’ve done an excellent job of playing.”
Howard is a five-time All-Defensive team member, has won the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year award three times and also took home the NBA Slam Dunk Contest crown.
“Like professionally, he’s not some bad teammate that’s trying knock people down and do shady nonsense or whatever,” Stephen A. Smith told Ebro in the Morning.
“It’s more childish because you put yourself in a situation as a man, but you ain’t handling it as a man sometimes. Sometimes the boyishness comes out and you’re a little bit pouty and stuff like that. And grown men that’s got bills to pay and has got this money to make, they ain’t got time for all of that. They’re like: ‘you put yourself in this situation. You gotta handle. They’re sympathetic to it. But in the same breath, don’t bring it to work to the point where it effects your level of play and you start thinking you’re more than you actually are. Dwight was an All-Star and an All-World player as a defender, shot-blocker and rebounder. Do that! Don’t go out there acting like you can shoot jump shots, that you think you’re the second coming of Kareem, that you can average 25 [points] a game offensively. That’s not who you are.”
Dwight Howard and the Lakers begin NBA training camp later this month. The NBA’s regular season begins next month.