Dwight Howard Recalls 2020 Offseason Mix-Up That Sent Him From Lakers to 76ers
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Former Los Angeles Lakers center Dwight Howard says a last-minute reversal by the franchise in November 2020 pushed him toward a free-agent deal with the Philadelphia 76ers instead of a return to the defending NBA champions.
Speaking with journalist Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson, the eight-time All-Star outlined how he thought he had secured a new contract to stay in Los Angeles. “I was told that there was a contract and I was so happy that I heard I was coming back, I tweeted about it,” Howard recalled. “My agent called me back and said, ‘Hey, the Lakers took the contract off the table. You gotta take that tweet down.’”
Moments earlier on Nov. 20, 2020, Howard had posted — and quickly deleted — a message to his social-media followers announcing he would run it back with LeBron James, Anthony Davis and the rest of the roster that had just captured the 2020 NBA title inside the Orlando bubble.
The veteran center said the sudden change was a blow after he embraced a limited role focused on defense and rebounding during the championship season. “I was highly upset that I didn’t get a chance to compete for a title defense because I believed we had a special team,” he said.
Los Angeles ultimately changed course, signing big men Marc Gasol and Montrezl Harrell that offseason. Howard signed a one-year agreement with Philadelphia later the same day he deleted the tweet.
The Lakers opened the 2020-21 campaign strongly but were derailed by injuries to Davis and James and exited in the first round of the playoffs. Howard returned to the Lakers for the 2021-22 season, his last in the NBA, and was enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2023.
Source: Lakers Nation
