Dwight Howard shares NSFW shot at LeBron James that allegedly led to Lakers exit

03/12/2025 03:15 AM

Dwight Howard is on his way to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, and yet if given the choice, Howard would still want to continue his NBA career. Howard last played in the NBA in 2022 when he returned to the Los Angeles Lakers in the first season of their failed Russell Westbrook experiment, and ever since, he’s been vocal about being heartbroken about how the Lakers decided not to bring him back following their 2020 NBA championship triumph in the bubble.

Howard has already talked to Lakers governor Jeanie Buss on his podcast about the way his stint with the team ended in 2020, leading to him signing with the Philadelphia 76ers. What the future Hall of Famer said back then was that there was a bit of miscommunication between his agent and the Lakers brass. But now, Howard believes that it was an expletive he hurled at LeBron James that led to the team’s decision to not bring him back.

“You can't say that. I said that one time, and I was off the team. … It was after we won the championship, man. It happened on defense. I was like, 'Yo, you gotta get back.' And [LeBron] got mad because I said something. And I was like, 'Yo, stop acting like a b***h, man,'” Howard said on the most recent episode of the “Above The Rim with DH 12” podcast.

Of course, memory is unreliable, and it’s not quite clear if this exchange indeed led to the Lakers’ refusal to bring Howard back in free agency. But one thing’s for sure, the hurt that stems from the fact that he was not brought back for the 2020-21 season still lingers in Howard’s mind even though over four years have passed since then.

Dwight Howard may want to preserve his redeemed Lakers legacy

Dwight Howard wasn’t very beloved among the Lakers faithful before he re-signed with the team prior to the 2019-20 season. But Howard bought into his bench role for that season and became an instrumental part of their title run in the bubble, emerging as part of a deadly frontcourt duo with Anthony Davis.

However, Howard has been very vocal about his departure from the Lakers in 2020. Perhaps it’d be best if Howard just leaves the subject alone, as he’s now gone as far as to insinuate that it’s LeBron James who caused his exit from the team over four years ago, which is a dangerous idea to suggest.

The post Dwight Howard shares NSFW shot at LeBron James that allegedly led to Lakers exit appeared first on ClutchPoints.