Los Angeles Lakers: Dwight Howard lacked confidence with team

Former Los Angeles Lakers center Dwight Howard revealed that he lost confidence as a player when playing with the team.

The Los Angeles Lakers have had some of the greatest players to ever play in the NBA wear their purple and gold. Center has been a position they have been especially talented at. George Mikan, Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Shaquille O’Neal are some of them. Los Angeles was hoping that Dwight Howard could become the next great center in franchise history.

The Lakers acquired Howard from the Orlando Magic in a four-team trade in August of 2012. The Lakers traded their own young center, Andrew Bynum, to the Philadelphia 76ers as part of the deal, and the Denver Nuggets were the fourth team involved.

The Lakers were putting together their newest super team in hopes of returning to glory. Howard was going to be paired with Pau Gasol in the frontcourt, while Steve Nash was acquired to play with Kobe Bryant. If Lakers fans thought their last attempt at a super team with Karl Malone and Gary Payton went poorly, this was on a whole different level of disappointment.

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The Lakers would get swept in the first round of the playoffs by the San Antonio Spurs. This was actually the last time the Lakers qualified for the postseason, as they are currently riding a four-year playoff drought. However, it is a season that many Lakers fans would rather forget.

Nash played 50 underwhelming games, struggling with injuries. However, a brunt of the failure was pointed at Howard’s direction.

Howard came into the season off back surgery. He was out of shape once training camp began, as he needed six months of recovery. Right as he was beginning to get his footing underneath him, Howard injured his shoulder. Howard battled through that injury, playing in 76 games. However, those efforts were not greatly appreciated as the Lakers didn’t have any success in the postseason.

Injuries were a big problem for Howard, but his inability to mesh with Bryant also caused problems. Howard’s laid-back demeanor was not something that mixed well with the uber-competitive Bryant. In a recent interview with Lee Jenkins of Sports Illustrated, Howard also revealed that his confidence was shattered with the Lakers.

"“I lost confidence in who I am as a player,” he recalls. “I’d hear people say, ‘You should play more like Shaq,’ so I tried to bully guys. But that didn’t work because I’m not as big as Shaq. Then I’d hear people say, ‘You smile too much, you should be more like Kobe,’ so I tried to put on a mean face and play mad. But I wound up getting all these stupid techs and flagrant fouls.” He even threw on a headband and kneepads, like Wilt Chamberlain, masquerading as any great Laker except Dwight Howard. He grew anxious enough that he occasionally called friends at halftime and asked what they thought of his performance."

Howard went to the Lakers as arguably the best center in the NBA. However, that was pretty much the beginning of his dropoff.

The injuries played a big part in his production dropping. Howard pushed himself to get on the court from the back injury and played through a shoulder ailment. However, he has been on the decline and bouncing around since.

Since that season with the Lakers, Howard has played on two teams, the Houston Rockets, and Atlanta Hawks. He signed as a free agent with the Hawks but lasted only one season there as he was traded to the Charlotte Hornets this offseason.

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At only 31-years old, Howard should still have some productive seasons left. He can still be a difference maker defensively, especially on the glass, where he averaged 12.7 rebounds per game. His 13.5 points per game were the second lowest of his career, but it is evident that he can still help in other ways.

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