Dwight Howard Opens Up on Sacrifices He Made While Playing with the Lakers

Dwight Howard has had an interesting career. In his 16 years in the NBA, he has played with different teams like the Lakers, Magic, and Rockets. For the upcoming season, he is joining the Philadelphia 76ers, his seventh team.

The 8-time All-Star who used to be starter and superstar in multiple teams has transformed into a role player. In a recent interview with USA Today’s Ky Carlin, Howard talks about why he accepted a lesser role in the Lakers.

He said, “Before the season started with the Lakers last year, I just promised myself that whatever I had to do for the team, I’ll be willing to do and I know that there’s always been a perception about who people think I am and my character on and off the floor.

“By sacrificing all of the things that I would necessarily want for myself as a player, any player would want to play big minutes, any player would want to have a big role on a team and be able to score and all that stuff, but for our team to be successful, I just needed to be Dwight.

He added, “Realize that I’m more than enough. I don’t need to score 30 points to help our team win. I don’t have to be on the court all the time to help our team win. It’s just a mindset that I had to change and it really helped me, it helped our team, and I’m glad that I was able to not allow my past to affect my future.”

He now sees himself in the 76ers mainly as a backup center to Joel Embiid.

Dwight Howard in the Lakers

Lot of eyebrows were raised when the Lakers signed Howard. In the 2018-19 season, he had only played nine games for the Wizards and was later traded to the Grizzlies. He was also waived from Memphis.

But when the Lake show signed him, Superman was motivated to prove his doubters wrong. In the 2019-20 season with the Lakers, Howard did not have the best stat sheet. But his contribution in the team was enormous.

In the team he had one job, defend. The 8-time All Star only played 18.9 minutes per game, averaging 7.5 points, 7.3 rebounds, 1.1 blocks. Howard, unlike his other seasons, was no more given offensive duties.

His contribution in Lakers’ playoff run was enormous. When they faced a juggernaut in the Denver Nuggets, Howard helped in limiting their star center Nikola Jokic. His role was much more limited against other teams and 3-time DPOY readily accepted that.

His sacrifice paid up, though. He won his elusive first ring as the Lakers cruised past the Miami Heat in the NBA finals. Surprisingly, the Lakers did not re-sign the 6’10 center, and 76ers signed him instead.

He now sees himself in a Philadelphia team as a backup center to Joel Embiid. The 76ers will hope that the veteran can help the young core of Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid fulfill their potential.