The LA Lakers have been in a terrible position recently, but Dwight Howard knows what might just fix this. Notably, the Lakers face an early elimination from the Championship race after the Denver Nuggets ousted them in the first round of the playoffs by a 4-1 series win. And during an appearance on ‘The OGs‘ podcast, Dwight Howard stated the two names he thinks the Lakers needed the most. 

The first name the former Orlando Magic star took was hilariously his own. He was asked on the podcast what it is the Lakers need to do at this point. “First thing they had to do was get Dwight Howard,” said the 6’10” former NBA star. On being asked the next option now that the Lakers did not go for the first one, Howard mentioned LeBron James‘ son Bronny James’ name. “They just needed two pieces, Bronny and Dwight,” he stated. 

Further during the podcast, Dwight Howard also gave his prediction for the next season of the LA Lakers. He mentioned that the Lakers will get Bronny into the team next year. He, although jokingly, believes that LeBron will not tell his team he is not signing unless they get Bronny on the roster. “Bronny is coming back. He’s playing for the Lakers. LeBron gonna play his 21st season with the Lakers, and they gonna get the first round exit again,” Howard made a hilarious prediction.

However, even though made in good humor, this prediction by Dwight Howard does not come out of thin air. Notably, the last time the Lakers reached the NBA finals and won a championship was both in 2020. Ever since, the team has continuously been going through a rough phase. 

 Some issues that the Lakers have been facing  

After the 2020 NBA championship win, the team could not even cross the first round of the playoff in 2021. In 2022, they failed to even qualify to play in the tournament. And even though the Lakers reached the conference finals last season, the team faced a clean sweep at the hands of the Nuggets. They were on the verge of the same fate this season as well. But somehow managed to secure one win after a 3-0 series score.     

Speaking of the 2020-21 season, the major issue for the Lakers was its key players, LeBron James and Anthony Davis suffering some serious injuries. Davis sustained a calf strain and Achilles tendinosis, which led to him playing just 36 games through the season. Apart from this, LeBron suffered an ankle sprain and played just 45 games.  

Similar problems persisted for both the key players of the team in the 2021-22 season as well. Notably, Davis played 40 games through the season while the King also played just 56 games. And to make the things worse, the Lakers traded Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Montrezl Harrell, Kyle Kuzma, and Isaiah Jackson for Russell Westbrook. And that too when Russell Westbrook was at a declining stage of his career. Back then, this was said to be an overreaction by the franchise after a previous season filled with injuries. 

And although both the players overcame their injury situation this season, the outcome stayed similar. In fact, both the players delivered an impressive performance this season but lacked the required team support. The Lakers failed to deliver a collective performance as a team, resulting in a 4-1 ousting this season. Now it is to be seen what changes the Lakers make in order to get desirable results the next season, contrary to Dwight Howard’s hilarious prediction.