Dwight Howard makes major regret admission about leaving Lakers

The Los Angeles Lakers’ attempt at a superteam in 2012 ended in disaster. After trading for three-time Defensive Player of the Year winner Dwight Howard and two-time NBA MVP Steve Nash to partner with Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, and Metta World Peace, the Lakers limped into the playoffs, where they were swept by the San Antonio Spurs. Now, Howard, who left after just a single season, says he regrets how he handled the troubles in L.A.

While Howard is one of the best players of the 21st century, having led the Orlando Magic to the NBA Finals and finally winning an NBA Championship in a redemption season of sorts with the Lakers in 2020, the big man still has complicated feelings toward his first exit from Los Angeles.

“That’s one thing that I wish I could go back and be like, ‘Let me make this decision wisely and weigh everything out,’” Howard said on his ‘Above The Rim’ podcast of his decision to sign with the Houston Rockets in 2013 (h/t theScore). “I don’t think I weighed my decision really, really well at the time. I think my emotions got the best of me because I was on this emotional low already from having to leave Orlando, then coming to the Lakers, and us not succeeding.”

Dwight Howard’s disappointing first season with Lakers

After building a roster many thought could compete for a championship, the Los Angeles Lakers started the season 1-4 before firing head coach Mike Brown. Steve Nash’s former Phoenix Suns head coach Mike D’Antoni eventually took over. Under D’Antoni, L.A. a 45-37 record, which coincidentally tied Dwight Howard’s next team, the Houston Rockets, for the seventh-best record in the Western Conference. As a result of a tiebreaker, the Lakers were awarded the seventh seed and the misfortune of playing the San Antonio Spurs, who swept L.A. en route to an NBA Finals appearance.

Howard and Kobe Bryant clashed throughout the season as the team struggled. In 2015, Bryant, who said while they were teammates that Howard should play through a torn labrum and that Howard was too concerned about how people feel about him, said he “tried teaching” and “tried showing” Howard how to win, but that Howard was “uncomfortable” with how members of a championship locker room treat one another.

At the time of Bryant and his daughter Gigi’s death in early 2020, Howard was in the midst of a surprisingly effective season back with the Lakers. On his podcast, Howard lamented how things turned out during that 2012-13 season with the Lakers.

“It was like, dang, if I was patient. If I was a little bit more patient, and I just trusted the process,” Howard said. “I sit back and look like, dang, if I would’ve really cherished those moments with Kobe as a teammate, and what it could’ve been if we would’ve had two, three, four years together playing basketball and how much better I would’ve got.

“Just all different types of things could’ve happened. I know I did make up for it by winning a championship, but I think it would’ve been a different story.”

After winning the NBA Championship with the Lakers, Howard played the 2020-21 season with the Philadelphia 76ers before returning for his final NBA season in L.A. Since 2022, Howard has played in Taiwan.