Getty Former Los Angeles Lakers center Dwight Howard.
Dwight Howard is one of the most fascinating NBA superstars of the 2000s. During his apex from 2007 to 2014, he was one of the best players in the entire league. He made eight All-Star teams and was named NBA Defensive Player of the Year three times.
However, Howard hasn’t seen as much success in recent years. Since 2016, he has played for five different teams and spent last year as a member of the Taoyuan Leopards of the T1 League in Taiwan. While Howard has enjoyed his time in Taiwan, he still has a longing to play in the NBA.
The former Los Angeles Lakers star had a July 6 interview with Zion Olojede of Complex where he made it clear that he wants another shot to play for an NBA team.
“I know that there’s at least 15 to 20 teams that I could play for,” Howard said. “And I know there’s teams that got great starting centers, but I know I could be a great backup center.
“I know I can provide a team with 25 minutes of dominant basketball. … I just want to go out like a champ like I’m supposed to.”
Dwight Howard Says He Has Connection With Los Angeles Lakers
Dwight Howard’s best years came when he was with the Orlando Magic, but he also had three separate stints with the Lakers. His second stint with the team during the 2019-20 season yielded his first NBA championship. Though he’s only spent a total of three seasons in Los Angeles, Howard feels drawn to the Lakers. He regrets not getting the chance to spend more time with the team over his career.
“It’s been crazy. It’s been crazy, but it’s just for some reason we just clicked,” Howard told Complex. “I don’t know, you could have a little girlfriend or whatever and it’s just, y’all done been together, y’all done broke up. You done tried other girlfriends but it’s just some type of connection y’all got.
“That’s how we feel about the Lakers. Man, it’s just something that we got this connection. I don’t know. It got to work. It got to work. But I do love the Lakers, man. We had the championship run there and I wish we would’ve had a chance to keep going because that was the squad right there. We had everything. We had everything.”
“I know in my prime… it’s a wrap.”
Dwight Howard explains why he’s better than Jokic in his prime.
Dwight Howard Believes He Had Better Prime Than Nikola Jokic
It’s easy to forget that Dwight Howard was a dominant force during his prime and was regarded as the best center in the NBA. In a November 2021 article, The Athletic listed Howard as the 56th-best player ever regardless of position. He will be in the Hall of Fame one day. That said, he thinks that he’s not regarded highly as he should be. Nikola Jokic is the best center in the NBA right now and just led the Denver Nuggets to a championship, winning Finals MVP. Despite that, Howard thinks he was better in his prime than Jokic is now.
“So, people look at that and say, ‘Well, Jokic, he scores and does all this stuff.’ And no offense, I think he’s great,” Howard told Complex. “I love Jokic. I don’t want people to think that I’m trying to hate, even comparing, but I’m going to take myself. I know how dominant I was, and I know what I could do with my skills. And on the defensive end and on the offensive end I was quick enough to get past everybody.
“And I love Jokic, and I’m happy for him,” he continued. “I think he’s one of the best centers that ever played the game of basketball, but I’m not going to throw dirt on my own name. I’m Dwight Howard. I know what I’ve done in this league.”