When Dwight Howard joined the Los Angeles Lakers in 2012, people were expecting big things from him and Kobe Bryant.
In the end, the partnership between Howard and Bryant didn’t work out and now the talented big man is opening up about why.
Speaking on “Gil’s Arena”, Howard said that the expectations were too much for him.
According to him, fans were expecting Bryant and Howard to find success like Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal.
On top of that, Howard revealed that he didn’t even want to be in Los Angeles in the first place.
The expectations were definitely sky-high for Howard and Bryant.
When Howard’s move to LA was announced, many fans and analysts thought this would immediately enhance the Lakers’ chances of dominating the Western Conference and returning to the Finals.
Secretly, Howard didn’t want to be there.
Instead of playing with the Lakers, he wanted to get revenge against them since they had beaten him and his Orlando Magic in the Finals a few years before.
Instead of playing for the Lakers, Howard preferred going to another team and having a fresh start.
The expectations and bad blood between him and the Lakers were just too much for Howard, but he admitted that he didn’t handle the situation well.
He said he acted off of emotions when he decided to leave LA after a single season.
Of course, he would come back years later and finally win a championship with the team but it would be without Bryant and the expectations that came with him.
