It’s amazing how Dwight Howard went from an athlete who was beloved by fans, media, teammates, and coaches to an athlete who is scorned, ridiculed and used as a scapegoat for the misfortune of two franchises by pretty much all of those same people.
Well, according Roger Sherman of SB Nation, Dwight did a sit-down interview where he spoke on a variety of topics.
Asked about his time in Orlando and his sulky attitude at the end of his time there, Howard took an unwarranted shot at his former teammates.
“I always say, hey, my team in Orlando was a team full of people nobody wanted, and I was the leader. I led that team with a smile on my face.”
Howard spoke about the difference between him and Kobe and rumors of them fighting.
“Do I care about winning? That’s the only thing I care about. We have two different ways of showing it.”
“Kobe never called me out. None of that stuff happened. People are always going to lie and make stuff up. What I know is that we have stuff that happens in the locker room that stays in the locker room. I would never repeat what happens in the locker room.”
Everything happens for a reason, so the good, the bad, the ugly with whatever people say. A lot of things that come out in media, they’re not even true. We’ve never, ever come to fists. never shouted at each other.”
When asked about the possibility of returning to the Lakers, Howard took another opportunity to state that he intended on pursuing free agency but was all in with the Lakers for this season.
“I’m all in. I’m here now, and what I want to do is win a championship. That’s my goal for this season.”
“It’s my choice. That’s what free agency is. You have the opportunity to decide what you want to do with your career.”
I don’t know if this interview was supposed to help Dwight’s image, but it seems like all it’s going to do is annoy the fans in Orlando and Los Angeles not to mention his former Magic teammates.