A Hall of Fame former NBA superstar recently revealed why he was disappointed he once had to join the Philadelphia 76ers in free agency.
Philadelphia, a big-market franchise with a decorated championship history (the club boasts three titles, in 1955, '67 and '83), is typically a major destination for free agents or star players angling to be traded.
But one aging former eight-time All-Star didn't see it that way — although it didn't really have much to do with the Sixers.
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During a lengthy career retrospective conversation with longtime NBA insider Brandon "Scoop B" Robinson on Robinson's new show "Scoop B Selects," 18-year NBA center Dwight Howard explained reflected on his fraught free agency following his the only title of his career, achieved as a reserve on the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020.
Per Howard, he had initially been promised that the Lakers would re-sign him, but eventually his offer was pulled. After that, he signed a minimum deal with Philadelphia to back up All-NBA center Joel Embiid for the 2020-21 season.
"I was told that there was a contract and then I was so happy that I heard I was coming back, I tweeted about it and my agent called me back and said, “Hey. The Lakers took the contract off the table. You gotta take that tweet down.” I was like, ‘Damn! Why would they do that?’ and it really kind of messed with me because I’m like, I came in with the right attitude towards winning, not worried about points, rebounds… just worried about us winning another championship… and so many people made a big emphasis on me worrying about points and all that stuff which I think all players want to get out in the game and score and be effective," Howard said.
Without Howard or JaVale McGee, the Lakers brought in former All-Star centers Andre Drummond and Marc Gasol. T
he club was felled by injury issues and ultimately got booted out of the first round of the 2021 playoffs. With its 2020 championship-era core of Hall of Famers LeBron James and Anthony Davis, Los Angeles only got as far as the 2023 Western Conference Finals. Davis was traded away midseason last year.
"So, but I was highly upset that I didn’t get a chance to compete for a title defense because I believed that we had a special team and we had a window where we could’ve won and been to the NBA Finals multiple years," Howard added.
A three-time Defensive Player of the Year, Howard was a double-double machine during his peak seasons with the Orlando Magic, Lakers (in his first go-around with the club, 2012-13), and Houston Rockets. All told, the eight-time All-NBA honoree boasts career averages of 15.7 points, 11.8 rebounds, 1.8 blocks, 1.3 assists and 0.9 steals in 1,242 healthy regular season bouts (1,078 starts).
"I’m just thankful that I’ve put myself in a position to be a Hall of Famer, you know?" Howard told Robinson. "My work ethic, my discipline, my sacrifice, consistency and my faith has got me to the Hall of Fame and it’s an amazing honor to hear everywhere I go that people call me a Hall of Famer. "
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