The Unreal Rise and Disastrous Fall of Dwight Howard

Dwight Howard's run of terror was likely far more dominant than you think. At one point superman was destined to become one of the greatest big men to ever play the game, only to be subject to mockery and ridicule 15 short years later. Today we cover the dramatic rise and sad fall of Dwight Howard.

[@benson_gumball634]

Thought this was a rusty video for a second

[@coachmcguirk6297]

Trombone? Shackleford?

[@fabriceconstant6255]

@benson_gumball634 same here. I even doubled checked the page 😅

[@KobeBryant-cm2cc]

I did too 😭

[@bignoob24]

This is better.

[@UTFT777]

“All time great shooter Javaris crittenton” 😂😂😂

[@julianc.6589]

so good

[@avecashley6480]

Love your content! My aunt met Dwight in his early years, when he was on the Magic. She worked at a big mall in Orlando and he was the friendliest celebrity she met while working there. He had her teaching him how to salsa in the Body Shop lol 😂

[@SageOfReality]

Man you are growing with this quality content, always wondered about Dwight but never got around to learning about his career. Now I know, thank you!!

[@JohnnyRodgers3]

there's caviats in each era that players both benefited from and were hindered by. Like for instance, imagine if they allowed wilt to dip his shoulder and offensive foul like a shaq or a giannis. His efficiency would sky rocket as he no longer had to try to avoid his defender while scoring....or imagine if wilt could carry and palm the ball in the post like Ewing or shaq...his post moves would be a lot more fluid and quicker....imagine if pinning the ball on the backboard while blocking a shot, like lebron in game 7 of the 2016 finals...didn't result in a goaltending violation....you know how many more blocks he could've recorded?...imagine if there was a 3 point line, granting wilt more space to operate...it would be a nightmare... should we disregard the seasons where they shortened the 3 point line in the middle of the decade? Mj made 861 points off of "3 pointers" during this time,What happens if we take those away? He becomes 6th on the all time scoring list behind dirk nowitski...and drops down to 2nd in all time ppl behind wilt chamberlain...what do you think about this? Were those stats he recorded at that time fools Gold?

[@thomas_the_cat]

biggest snub in the 75th year team... but how he still never developed a decent post game after being coached/trained by kevin mchale and hakeem olajuwon is just mind blowing... once his athlethecism went away he was done even though he was still relatively young

[@johnpaulgonzalez9016]

Started watching Dwight back in 2008-2009 (LONG THREAD) Here's the timeline (based on observation) 2008 & 2009 - He blossomed into a dominant bigman namely after gaining recognition from his 2008 slam dunk contest and any shot within the painted area is almost impossible due to his athleticism and defensive instincts, and underrated rebounding prowess. It also helped that Patrick Ewing was the assistant coach at the time which helped Dwight add some finesse in his low post scoring. With his talents awakened, only shaq was able to guard him 1 on 1 in the lowpost, as he exposed cleveland in the conference finals, and it took all of the Laker's bigmen to try to box him out during the finals 2010 - He was still rising up and still hasn't reached his prime at this point, the media was also getting in his head as he was in the same conversation as Kobe and Lebron in terms of being the best player in the league. All that fame made him overconfident but during the conference finals against boston he was exploited. The system of Orlando was always finding a way to drop it to Dwight via Pick n Roll which boston defended very well. Also his low post scoring wasn't helping the team at all as he has sub par low post scoring especially against Kendrick Perkins and KG. He still was an elite rebounder, one of the best all time. 2011 - He was at his peak during this time and was in the MVP conversation, He gave Miami, a perimeter based team a lot of trouble. He learned from Hakeem during the offseason from this time, and bulked up even more, which somehow made him slower unlike the previous years. The magic messed it up here, they traded depth for Hedo and Gilbert Arenas, a trade which included Marcin Gortat, his back up. Even with his dominance, he can't man the paint alone, that's why Atlanta beat them. 2012- the numbers are 28 pts and 15 rebounds, as expressed by shaq. He even said that Andrew Bynum was better and Dwight was just a Pick n Roll bigman, undermining his hall of fame defense and rebounding. These statements by Shaq got into his head ALL YEAR and following seasons and he forced himself to try and be what shaq wants him to be when it's not his game. He was trying to be Hakeem when his game is more similar to Shaq's but faster and more agile, you can see in his movements during this season, his low post scoring was like someone still practicing his moves but his best highlights were from backing down weak defenders or just 2 move postups, also lobs and pick n roll. Also it didn't help that his mindset was all about the fame and not the glory, this is also the year he got injured in the back. 2013 - Traded to LA, his mind set got exploited as he was teammates with the arguably the most competitive player in NBA history who was all about the rings, Dwight cared about marketing himself. The lakers were all about winning, but Dwight was all about Hollywood. You can clearly see during his time with the Lakers, the difference of the work ethic of the players during the game. He'd brick such bad free throws, and was the 3rd best low post bigman on the team with Kobe being 1st, and Gasol 2nd. He was still elite on the defensive end but offensively, he demanded so much low post that it was an automatic turnover. He wasn't happy due to not being the star that he was in orlando, therefore in conclusion, the system orlando was running made Dwight the player he is, when he got to LA which has a team based system, he sucked quick as he was not the focus now. 2013/2014 to 2016 - He tried to rejuvinate his career here by signing with Houston and form potentially a great duo with Harden, it was a great season for him, not orlando good but acceptable. His athleticism slightly declined but he was trying to do too much, being with hakeem almost everyday working on his subpar post game may have given him confidence, but it slowed the pace down which didn't help harden develop. He did carry that team during the series against portland against Lamarcus Aldridge but Dame killed them. During the 2015 season this is where Dwight got exploited in all aspects. He was still a great defensive asset no doubt, but the team experimented on low post scoring (dwight focused offense) and fast pace scoring with Harden at the helm. The team found more success with Harden but Dwight demanded more, you can see with the highlights, he wasn't happy with the pick n roll offense. 2015 playoffs, Dwight mainly scored via lobs, offensive rebounds, and via pick n roll, the team steamrolled pass the Mavericks with that system, 2nd round they destroyed the clippers coming back from 3-1, but lost to the up and coming dynasty warriors, one common thing about it? Dwight wasn't happy. 2016, he was dragging the organization down, he kept forcing himself in the lowpost even when they found success with Pick n Roll, Capela was a better bigman partner for Harden at this point as Dwight was just dragging his feet during this season, his bighead created discord within the locker room, as evident with the 1st round series against the warriors when Harden hit that game winner, no one was celebrating, as they were all stressed out and wanted the season over. 2017 - Dwight still thought of himself as a superstar, he went back home to his hometown in Atlanta to attract some marketing towards him but his play and decline wasn't helping atlanta win at all. Especially with Budenholzer's system a.k.a Spurs playbook which relied on ball movement and player movement in every part of the court, he was a blackhole and derailed the team drastically considering Atlanta was a top seed before dwight got there. 2018 - Charlotte Hornets, the writing was on the wall on Dwight. During this season he played like himself. No more overthinking on the low post, no more excessive movement, he was free to be himself (since his team sucked). Rebounding, defense, scoring down low, he even had highlights of dunking on ibaka via crossover, and recorded a 30-30 game against the nets. This was all pure Dwight all season. Off court issues also started to rise up from the surface from this. He was traded to BKN for mozgov, then waived. With someone as good as him on the court, there shouldve been no way he was waived that quick which means its an off court issue now. 2019 - Wizards. He came back with tattoos, low stamina, and twice as slow, you knew something was going on. He was not only derailing for the wizards who wanted to play fast, he was also a liability on offense. He did miss the rest of the season due to his spinal surgery. Traded again and waived, by the grizzlies. Then his off court issues rose from the surface derailing his career and put him in a very very bad light with the media, he kept himself inside a hole after. 2020 - One word. Redemption. He somehow accepted that he's not the Dwight of before (or did he), and focused on the things he was good at. Defense, Rebounding, and Pick n Roll, and his health both mentally and physically. He wasn't demanding the ball anymore in the lowpost, but mainly rebounded and created screens for Bron and AD to operate. He was the perfect back up for the injury prone AD who didn't have to handle banging down below that much with Dwight's presence. His genius defense was evident against Jokic during the Bubble Conference Finals, but before that, he barely played against portland and houston, his maturity during those times was evident and Dwight REDEEMED himself during this season, as a keypiece to the Lakers in their Championship season. Conclusion. Dwight is definitely a hall of famer, but his mindset of fame first before rings really derailed him. It also didn't help that Shaq was discrediting who Dwight is, but it's Dwight's fault too from trying to please Shaq at one point. If he matured from Kobe's mentorship rather than force the system to run through him (oh believe me kobe tried, at one point Kobe had 14 - 16 assists in a 3 or 4 game stretch back when Mike D'Antoni was hired to be LA's coach) it might've been a different CAREER. On the defensive end and rebounding, Dwight is top ten among the best in NBA history. Athleticism, he's probably top 5 among bigmen in NBA history. Offensively, orlando's system which is focused entirely on him, made him look great offensively, that's it.

[@a.c.slater7989]

You are lying. First off he didn’t get exposed for anything he had a severe back injury which derailed his career he was visibly smaller after getting surgery. That entire Lakers team didn’t mesh well either even Nash couldn’t get along with Kobe. Dwight did run pick and rolls in Houston it’s literally how they got the 3-1 comeback on the Clippers Capela was on a rookie deal and did the same thing as Dwight so they traded him because they didn’t need both. Everyone on that rockets team had nothing but good things to say about him. You have to be delusional to say he thought he was a superstar in Atlanta he barely shot the ball and didn’t do anything behind the scenes.

[@johnpaulgonzalez9016]

@@a.c.slater7989 uhhh yes he was in terms of MINDSET. He came in wanting to do movies instead of thinking about winning. Nash even asked to help him with his free throws, but he refused, if he wanted to be there he wouldve stayed. For houston, Capela meshed better with Harden in D'Antoni's system, Dwight didnt want to run pick n rolls as he thinks he wasn't a PnR bigman but a low post one. Think about it, if he was buyin-in in houston, why did he leave? Harden was the star, and he wasn't. In terms of Pick n Roll, he was better than Capela, but why did they let him leave in free agency? It's because he doesn't want Pick n Rolls which makes harden look good rather than him unlike Capela who completely bought in. Why go back home in Atlanta? Championship potential, no superstars, and the "I'm coming home" to draw attention, not taking into account his role on the team. Always pouting about not getting the ball. Delusional is still accepting that he wasn't at fault with how things turned out, with his prowess on the defensive end and rebounding, why isn't he in the league when clearly he can still play on an elite level? You got guys like steven adams, not to undermine him but dwight is much faster, iguodala being wanted by teams even when he's retired. He's similar to Boogie, not accepting things and a locker room black hole. Can't accuse me of lying when I've been watching his career ever since they won against Bron in 2009. Lying my ass kid.

[@kennedy8926]

​@@johnpaulgonzalez9016terrible take

[@poindextertunes]

TL;DR

[@freedommgtow4996]

All that partying killed his drive/career. I wanted him to be serious and locked in with Kobe.

[@julianc.6589]

you and Collector Car Feed are two of the most underrated content channels out there man, keep up the good work

[@cranmanjr]

Something people forget is when he got traded to the lakers in 2012, he was still recovering from back surgery and rushed back way too early for the season opener because he was excited to play with Kobe, Nash, and Gasol. He did lose a bit of bounce but was still a top center in the NBA. What could’ve been had he not rushed back early?

[@JohnnyRodgers3]

there's caviats in each era that players both benefited from and were hindered by. Like for instance, imagine if they allowed wilt to dip his shoulder and offensive foul like a shaq or a giannis. His efficiency would sky rocket as he no longer had to try to avoid his defender while scoring....or imagine if wilt could carry and palm the ball in the post like Ewing or shaq...his post moves would be a lot more fluid and quicker....imagine if pinning the ball on the backboard while blocking a shot, like lebron in game 7 of the 2016 finals...didn't result in a goaltending violation....you know how many more blocks he could've recorded?...imagine if there was a 3 point line, granting wilt more space to operate...it would be a nightmare... should we disregard the seasons where they shortened the 3 point line in the middle of the decade? Mj made 861 points off of "3 pointers" during this time,What happens if we take those away? He becomes 6th on the all time scoring list behind dirk nowitski...and drops down to 2nd in all time ppl behind wilt chamberlain...what do you think about this? Were those stats he recorded at that time fools Gold?

[@PIP...33]

@@JohnnyRodgers3 YEP U CAN SEE DWIGHT VS SHAQ CAVS ORLANDO DUEL. SHAQ RAM SHOULDER TO SCORE. IF WILT HAD THAT , HE WOULD AVERAGE 75 PPG.

[@JohnnyRodgers3]

@@PIP...33 I dont know if he would average 75 ppg but I know his fg% would sky rocket prolly average 50+ on around 70% from the field

[@Nfnf889]

He refused to pick and roll with nash…. One of the best PnR guards and he refused to change his game. I guess better late than never since his second time with lakers he finally decided to PnR

[@cranmanjr]

@@Nfnf889 yeah his ego would’ve still hindered him. But I think there’s a chance if he had waited the full recovery time he could’ve still been Orlando Dwight good for at least a few more years.

[@goober5713]

Him vs. Nate Robinson in the dunk contest was still amazing

[@Spaghettineck]

I wouldn’t say brutal. He won a championship with the Los Angeles lakers and is still playing ball over seas. He’s not exactly begging for spare change

[@julianthesmooshyhusky8976]

I watched a Dwight era magic game where he had those crazy silver sleeves while tripping and I was convinced he was an action figure that came to life

[@sdfpcplay9392]

The year is 2026. Nuggets have dominated the NBA in all way possible: threepeat championships, 15/17 of the roster has been nominated in MVPs allstar allteam all the shit possible. All the east teams have been demoted to a new g-league called the E-League. Adam Silver, in a press conference admitting that he's a vampire, has announced the new NBA format: 100 games of Golden Denver Nuggets vs the world. 49 games in, the superteam of Lebron, Curry, and Dwayne wade has yet to beat the Joker team, 48-1 (the nuggs forfeited a loss due to horse race conflict). The world is ending as we know it. But on the 50th pregame, Draymond Worldpeace wrestled the mic away from MikeBreenAnnouncerBotgpt. But before he can utter a word, there was a struck of thunder, then smok. From the shadows appear, a man. A man of great history, of legend. A man one of the of all time. He was many things: he was a Atlantaw hawk, a taoyun lepard, a guangdong tiger, a shanghai shark, a san migel beerman. But today he a save us. He's name? Dwight Howard.

[@cursedwithlag]

???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

[@leo_wentzel]

I cried in anguish, then laughed, then cried in joy. What a beautiful story. Bravo.

[@canadasown02]

AD over Dwight on the nba 75 list was absurd

[@TheJadariusExperience]

Yeah man that’s my thoughts on Dwight short prime and had on and off years as a journey man afterwards.

[@koodigocrxzy465]

“All time great shooter Javaris critterton” 😂🤦🏽‍♂️

[@williamlee7672]

Still good career. Better than 99 percent of all players. Started as a guard. One thing is, why was his mid and long range shooting so bad if he played as a guard.

[@artofsoul]

When he was a young star, his athleticism and strength were off the chart and could not be stopped in the paint. Then he came to Houston with a prime Harden. I'm thinking he has (2) of the greatest post players in NBA history (Dream, McHale) showing him the ropes now and improve his game, boy was I wrong. He lacked passion and the will to improve his craft and it's why he's playing overseas.

[@jibbermasterstreet]

Please continue to upload 💪

[@alo1412]

That 2012-13 lakers season was awesome because of Kobe. Before the injury he was torturing everyone.

[@joaogabrielgatto8642]

This channel DESERVES waaaay more subscribers.

[@immrlonelyihavenobody4176]

Frrrr, I be thinking bro has atleast 100K but he’s only at 17 😖😖

[@joaogabrielgatto8642]

@@immrlonelyihavenobody4176 imagine the type of content this man will put up with more money

[@swishcountyproductions]

Preciate you

[@kens2328]

Had all the physical gifts, but none of the heart.

[@luther1546]

Kobe Bryant seems like he was a real pain in the ass to deal with.

[@sageofcausality173]

Ngl I've been saying this for years but kobe meat riders say it's MaMbA MeNtAliTy

[@leo_wentzel]

Yup, just like MJ. I don’t know why people excuse Kobe for it tho. At least he wasn’t too much of a prick off the court like MJ

[@duffal0]

You deserve way more subs

[@swishcountyproductions]

Who do you wanna see next?

[@demanager0412]

kenyon martin sr.! Thought he was one of the best when I was in my early teens, found out he actually wasted a lot of potential I guess.

[@delanotownsend8297]

Kawhi Leonard

[@konstantinkoverchenko9587]

Spreewell!!!

[@user-nr2ku9dk9b]

Bob Sura!!

[@Todd-DaGod-Howard]

Nba players that pay the most in child support. Like a top ten

[@producerevan88]

As a sixers fan, I watched him just a few years back kill it as a backup... makes no sense as to why he got blacklisted from the league imo

[@leo_wentzel]

Fr, I’m sure there’s at least 7-8 teams that would could easily use someone like Dwight as a backup center.

[@drossing13]

day 1 of asking for how good was manu ginobili actually

[@NecroVoid]

What's fhe channel name of this dude? I can't remember. @ 0:12

[@Freshprincephilly]

Dwight should be top 75

[@blaxkvibes]

The intro music is 🔥🔥

[@thebushwhacker8496]

This is really sad I hate seeing players limit their true potential and the what ifs they could’ve been

[@devgreazy1126]

Can u do rise and fall of d rose

[@benjiramirez7712]

And Dwight Still got a ring 🙏🙏🙏

[@doctor_elefant]

man its been a minute since i last watched that 2nd dude in the intro. his name is JR right? somebody got tje channel?

[@cmoney1818]

He messed up going to ball dominate players bro became a regular big man overnight.

[@__1201]

Holy shi*t. As a very tall guy myself, I was 6'7 when I entered high school. I can't imagine growing that much in 4 years. ***I take that back, there is NO WAY he was 5'10 entering ninth grade. He's not growing a foot in one year. He had to be at least a couple inches taller entering high school.

[@Conky1452]

Prime Dwight was a force

[@jayjay6156]

Who’s here after the Dwight Howard controversy…

[@malikbivings6712]

You didn’t mention his stint with the sixers and then back to LA

[@daltonhundt1422]

nah, this dude said “Cleveland LeBron’s”

[@jackcoleman812]

7:50 the Cleveland lebrons lol

[@dryames4319]

Great production quality and a very interesting video. I just subbed, keep up the good work!

[@swishcountyproductions]

Preciate that man, thank you!!

[@LilNoo2]

@@swishcountyproductions did you ever do one about Anthony Bennett??

[@PSYCHOWORLD]

All time great shooter is crazy 😂

[@vbeard5887]

Did it ever occur to everyone that Dwight Howard may have been overhyped? Maybe he wasn't as good as everyone is trying to make him out to be? He may be a hall of Famer because you let Chris Webber in without a ring. He's maybe a top 100 player, but hes not even a top 10 center all time.

[@Telesto742]

Bro do KG someday😁

[@poindextertunes]

Orlando Magic Dwight was Him

[@briankleinschmidt3664]

He knocked out my Pacers with that European fellow Turkoglu. I'm glad he picked up a ring. He deserved it.

[@Justinn.777]

Idk if bro blackballed lol but there’s no reason Dwight shouldn’t be on a NBA roster if people like Deandre still get rotation minutes

[@swishcountyproductions]

Very much agreed

[@eksit101]

He's still got more rings than what most of them have? What happens if he's signed to lakers this season? Assumptions.

[@calebmccardell7030]

Gilbert Arenas next pleaseeeeeee Edit: Love these videos. This is another great one.

[@JohnnyRodgers3]

there's caviats in each era that players both benefited from and were hindered by. Like for instance, imagine if they allowed wilt to dip his shoulder and offensive foul like a shaq or a giannis. His efficiency would sky rocket as he no longer had to try to avoid his defender while scoring....or imagine if wilt could carry and palm the ball in the post like Ewing or shaq...his post moves would be a lot more fluid and quicker....imagine if pinning the ball on the backboard while blocking a shot, like lebron in game 7 of the 2016 finals...didn't result in a goaltending violation....you know how many more blocks he could've recorded?...imagine if there was a 3 point line, granting wilt more space to operate...it would be a nightmare... should we disregard the seasons where they shortened the 3 point line in the middle of the decade? Mj made 861 points off of "3 pointers" during this time,What happens if we take those away? He becomes 6th on the all time scoring list behind dirk nowitski...and drops down to 2nd in all time ppl behind wilt chamberlain...what do you think about this? Were those stats he recorded at that time fools Gold?

[@leo_wentzel]

Why did this other dude reply to your comment with this 💀

[@JohnnyRodgers3]

@@leo_wentzel Idek😔

[@JohnnyRodgers3]

@@leo_wentzel I'm spreading the word bro💯

[@Pandyrew]

I mean all things aside I’m glad he ended up with a ring

[@VinceLyle2161]

All I can think of now when someone mentions Dwight Howard is him farting on other players on purpose.

[@FOUR7media47]

How does this effect Gerald Henderson’s legacy 🤨

[@gaulac]

Cong did get him a contract for only 75 php. So.. Yeah. Keep at it dwight.

[@dennismagee9555]

THE GAY ACCUSATIONS BROUGHT HIM DOWN!!!!!!! IT CHANGED HE STARTED TO GET TATTOOS AND CHANGE HIS HAIR COLOR TOO

[@Grizzbit]

We need a “How Good Was Reggie Miller?” Video Stat!

[@Bsfnelz20]

He got injured enough said

[@Jaykerz]

Imagine if tmac had played with dwight

[@JohnnyRodgers3]

there's caviats in each era that players both benefited from and were hindered by. Like for instance, imagine if they allowed wilt to dip his shoulder and offensive foul like a shaq or a giannis. His efficiency would sky rocket as he no longer had to try to avoid his defender while scoring....or imagine if wilt could carry and palm the ball in the post like Ewing or shaq...his post moves would be a lot more fluid and quicker....imagine if pinning the ball on the backboard while blocking a shot, like lebron in game 7 of the 2016 finals...didn't result in a goaltending violation....you know how many more blocks he could've recorded?...imagine if there was a 3 point line, granting wilt more space to operate...it would be a nightmare... should we disregard the seasons where they shortened the 3 point line in the middle of the decade? Mj made 861 points off of "3 pointers" during this time,What happens if we take those away? He becomes 6th on the all time scoring list behind dirk nowitski...and drops down to 2nd in all time ppl behind wilt chamberlain...what do you think about this? Were those stats he recorded at that time fools Gold?

[@hellabreeshhh]

D12 is top 5 greatest center period boii was godly 🐐🐐🔥🔥🔥🎥

[@chrismathgenius]

While I acknowledge that he is underrated by many all-time, saying that Howard is a top 5 center all-time is a stretch. He's not greater than Kareem, Russell, Wilt, Shaq, The Dream, or The Admiral.

[@juliusperseus8612]

I hope my Warriors Will Never Call him, despite what the casual idiots saying.

[@JasonRoggasch]

He is gay right? The court case etc ? i love that but his league doesnt.

[@Parleyposadajr2248]

All time great shooter man that really got me 😂

[@siredward333]

dwight howard is honestly in the same conversation as draymond green. yall may not wanna hear it but he gets the hype and the pedestal bc of what he could have been and he was hyper athletic. we honestly overhype raw athletes w virtually 0 actual skill. dwight was as successful in his nba career as amare stoudamire, dray and kawhi have multiple dpoys but we still question 4-time champ dray's HOF resume and the media is flipping on kawhi too. dwight is out of the league bc of himself mostly tbh

[@bandito241]

Talk about being a casual 🤦‍♀️

[@deanespinosa6399]

Swish drop the bomb

[@SiyabongaMokoena-nh8fp]

One of the nasty things about Kobe was that soft shii he accused Dwight of Kobe always liked to act like he was the only tough guy in the room when he wasn’t alienating people and being rude just because you want to copy Mj he was never even close to the heights of Mj but liked to act like it don’t get me wrong he’s a great player but stupid antics like this is what casuals would focus on oh Kobe was a tough guy and not his actual game where he misses shots and just takes more cuz fuck it He really annoyed me while he played and him calling Dwight soft affected how a lot of people saw Dwight Kobe was just unnecessary tough like I’d understand Mj doing it he’s that good but Kobe ain’t even better than Duncan only his marketing is better than Timmy that’s it

[@SonnyK248]

Kobe did not want to play with another superstar. He alienated Shaq out of LA and he did not want anyone with star power coming in and taking shade from him. Pau was perfect because he played like a star. He was one of the best players in the league but he was never looked at as that kind of player. He suited Kobe to a tee. That entire team did. It was a very good team and very deep but as Lebron haters point out "Kobe won without a top 75 player." Dwight on the Magic was seen as being in the same tier as Kobe. I remember a fan poll one year where he was voted the second best player in the league after Lebron. So I think Kobe went after him. Insecurity kicked in and he started riding him hard to prove he wasn't on his level instead of working with him to create a new Laker dynasty.

[@SiyabongaMokoena-nh8fp]

@@SonnyK248 this is so true Dwight wasn’t even that bad on the lakers and remember he was hurt this is what Kobe fans will never shine light on if he and Dwight worked well together they could have been special but instead he wants to be the tough macho alpha what a waste. People also won’t point out the 2004 finals where Kobe forced shots so he could be the finals mvp smh

[@leo_wentzel]

People need to stop excusing Kobe being an asshole the same way we stopped excusing MJ.

[@dustinpictou1927]

Jrsportsbrief lol classic

[@kens2328]

Soft.

[@JMoney80121]

Did he get caught with male prostitutes? Lol

[@jmu76featuring61]

Not saying he would make a big difference but i think he can guard the best big men 1v1

[@CISGENDER_MALE]

Lol i see what you did there with that all time shooter crittenton joke 🤝

[@pillbox1240]

Howard was great for about 3 years only. He’s mainly just a typical diaper baby graced with size

[@jonpike9991]

I'm an Orlando fan. I loved Dwight Howard. After the trade, I hate him. I don't think any Magic fan likes him anymore. A lot of us like Vooch more than him

[@budo222]

howard was good for a center but not complete enough like jokic to win a championship in orlando, he had to go to the lakers with AD and lebron to win

[@josephmatthews7698]

I actually blame the magic and the league more than anything. Dwight was built as the biggest most athletic wing coming out of high school who absolutely had point guard chops. Magic couldn't see the future though and just wanted him to gain 50 pounds and become the next Shaq. Imagine if they stopped pushing the dying post game down his throat and took advantage of his athleticism as a slashing or maybe even point forward. He was raw when he was young, you could have shaped him anyway. They could have looked into the future and turned him into an Uber athletic Draymond Green. Instead they looked to the past and tried to turn him into Olajuwon in a league where the post was going out of style. He met some success with that and just hit a wall in his growth where he essentially decided he was the best version of himself ans stalled his growth. But that high school scouting report wasn't wrong, he had a solid jumpshot and passing game. Magic just decided they didn't need any of that tried to make him the prototypical style Olajuwon type big man. One of the better what ifs in NBA history tbh.

[@itisnottaken4444]

He would’ve been a better version of Bam Adebayo

[@LEVAZ0ID]

RZA, GZA and DZA