Former NBA star Dwight Howard recently revealed some details about his exit from the Los Angeles Lakers.
In his recent edition of “RIM on top with DH 12,” the three-time NBA defensive player of the year claimed that LeBron James was responsible for leaving Los Angeles shortly after the franchise defeated the Miami Heat in the 2020 NBA Finals.
The Championship Series took place in the NBA bubble in Orlando due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
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Los Angeles Lakers' Dwight Howard is playing against the Orlando Magic on January 21, 2022 at the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida. (Gary Basing via Getty Images/nbae)
According to Howard, the friction between him and James came from the game during the 2019-20 regular season. Howard said he oversaw vulgar instructions to James, who helped him leave the Lakers.
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“I said that [too]and I drove the Lakers away.” Howard said Mario Chalmers played with James in the heat. “That's why I know how you feel.
“You can't say that,” added Howard. “I said it once, and I was off the team… It's the guy after we won the championship. It happened in defense. I was like, 'Yo, you have to come back.' and [LeBron] I got mad because I said something. And I said, “Yo, b —-, I'm going to stop acting like a man.”
LeBron James (23) and Dwight Howard (39) of the Los Angeles Lakers will respond to the Miami Heat in the first quarter at the 2020 NBA Finals at AdventHealth Arena, held on September 30, 2020 at ESPN Worldwide, sports complex in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. (Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
The exact reason the Lakers decided not to revive Howard after the 2019-20 season remains unknown, but during the 2016 NBA Finals, the Golden State Warriors' Draymond Green appeared to be at the centre of James' contest alongside the Golden State Warriors.
“He said Draymond Green called him the B-word, and that's what moved him,” Chris Brussard said at the time.
Also, when the two players intertwined around the midcourt, the camera appeared to capture Green trying to attack James in the gro caliber area. Green provided one game of suspension during the series.
James-led Cavs eventually rolled out the Larry O'Brien Championship trophy in 2016.
Howard's first stint with the Lakers was in the 2012-13 season. James was hot at the time. Howard then bouncing the league with several teams before rejoining Purple and Gold for the 2019-20 campaign.
The Los Angeles Lakers will talk to teammate Dwight Howard ahead of LeBron James, and eat snacks on the bench while playing against the San Antonio Spurs in San Antonio in the first half. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Despite making a significant on-court contribution in the season culminated in the Lakers' seventh NBA title, Howard left Los Angeles and played for the Philadelphia 76ers the following year.
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Howard had another opportunity to play with Los Angeles' James when he returned to the Lakers in the 2021-22 season. Howard appeared in 60 games that season and has not played in the NBA since. He spent the 2022-23 season competing in a professional league based in Taiwan.
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