Tuesday, March 5th, 2013 at 2:10 pm  |  81 responses

Dwight Howard Says Orlando Magic Teammates Were ‘People Nobody Wanted’


You’re not going to believe this, but Dwight Howard has once again put his foot in his mouth. Shocking, we know … In a wide-ranging interview with a CBS TV affiliate, Howard threw his former teammates under the bus by saying they were players that “nobody wanted”, but that he still deigned to lead them. Howard and the Los Angeles Lakers will visit the Orlando Magic next week, which should be a fun little circus. Per the Orlando Sentinel: “Howard began: ‘And I understand coming here to L.A., Kobe’s here and for 17 years Laker fans have seen Kobe be, they just see Kobe as somebody who’s serious. It seems like he doesn’t fool around, joke around, whatever it may be. But that’s his personality, and just because I don’t necessary make a [growling sound] or do all that during games or on the bench, that doesn’t mean I don’t care about succeeding or wanting to win. And I always tell people, ‘Hey, my team in Orlando was a team full of people who nobody wanted, and I was the leader and I led that team with a smile on my face.’ Howard’s comment will add some intrigue to the March 12 matchup between Howard’s Lakers and the Magic at Amway Center. That game will be Howard’s first game in Orlando since April 5, 2012. [...] That sentiment, as well as his previously stated desire to play alongside point guards Chris Paul and Deron Williams, created friction with his teammates, including his Magic co-captain, Jameer Nelson.”

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  • The Philosopher

    Aww… he misses Orlando.
    In my assessment.

  • http://twitter.com/apowellAdvocate Allen Powell II

    No, Javale is fun loving and goofy. Dwight is seriously stupid, but thinks he’s smart

  • http://www.facebook.com/jab.ras.7 Jab Ras

    I don’t know why Dwight gets away with stuff like this. If this had been Lebron there would be over 300+ comments

  • Lloyd

    I see what you’re saying, but just because his team lost one game, doesn’t make Dwight personally or the Lakers lesser in skill. Therefore, the Presidential elections would be a flawed analogy since one game wouldn’t equal the finality of winning the presidency. It’s more like the Magic won in one state.

    Anyway, regardless of the Lakers winning or losing in that single game, Dwight’s probably the most informed to speak on the skill of the teammates he played with. Whiny? sure. Ill informed? No.

  • dannyb

    Who wants to bet that Dwight tries to explain what he meant in the next 24 hours and ends up making it sound even worse than it does now??

  • Blaze man

    This is a legit argument right here

  • mike

    The 11-12 Roster was 2 games behind the home court 4th seeded team , despite the turmoil and distraction Dwight imposed during the season, they were still able to have a decent record….

    Clearly it would not have beaten the HEAT…. but , the improved play of REDDICK , EARL CLARK ,and GLEN DAVIS ( before injury) this year , shows that all those players had room to improve, Along with some tweaks in the roster in offseason… That team could have been competitive. You say same “disappointment”…….i would argue it could not be any more disappointing than this years LAKERS…

  • Blaze man

    He’s resigning with LA retard

  • nate

    way too white??? that’s stupid

  • http://twitter.com/mantus87 david nelson

    Yeah and we dont want those Laker fans!! because they will be the first ones tweeting Dwight when lakers find a groove…

  • shockexchange

    “Hurt people, hurt people.” Rent-A-Center lashed out at “teammates who were minding their own business, and keeping his name out of their mouths” because of the grief he has been taking in L.A. There was no reason to lash out at his former teammates.

  • shockexchange

    He re-signing in LA. LA will make the playoffs. Birds will fly south for the winter. Way to go out on a limb big guy. What next, “The Shock Exchange is my favorite commenter on SLAM?”

  • speedy

    Nobody wants to lose.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100003246310246 Jason Carter

    Damn if this was my player mode in 2k13 his Fan points would drop dramatically

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Donte-Machiavelli-Hudson/100000723951750 Donte Machiavelli Hudson

    This fool said bc kobe growls, that makes him serious,,, KOBE’S GAME MAKES HIM SERIOUS FOOL! he still doesn’t understand that all that “cheesin” & grinning makes him a mockery to the lineage of big men that dominated this game. Kobe wasn’t the only laker who meant business on the court,,, kobe was serious before the growl. 17years?? Try 70 yrs this franchise hadn’t seen this m much f_____g laughter in them 70 yrs. Wilt wasn’t laughing, kareem, even Shaq didn’t play on the court.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Donte-Machiavelli-Hudson/100000723951750 Donte Machiavelli Hudson

    sofT-TTTTT (with a capital T)

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Donte-Machiavelli-Hudson/100000723951750 Donte Machiavelli Hudson

    Lol, for real tho. Javale brings more right now

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Donte-Machiavelli-Hudson/100000723951750 Donte Machiavelli Hudson

    Shaq would’ve been dunking his nuts all in fool PHAT MOUF! that’s a given

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Donte-Machiavelli-Hudson/100000723951750 Donte Machiavelli Hudson

    Luck or tactical advantage over MENTAL TOUGHNESS? wow. YOU SERIOUSLY DON’T KNOW BASKETBALL. GIVE ME me a high iQ & mental toughness anyday over those two. Luck is the guy hitting the half court shot for a car. & tactical whatever is coaching,,, take a good look at “the salesman” on miami’s bench riding lbj & wade’s coat tails,,, get back with after you think about it.

  • Ugh

    And they’re doing great without him this year, too, aren’t they?

  • Ugh

    Hell, I think Cinderella is generous. The East was so bad that year Snow White could have lead the 7 dwarves to the ECF.

  • Ugh

    Rashard Lewis was the most overpaid player in the NBA (and went 2-10 twice in the Finals), Hedo played
    Contract Year ball and bailed, and Rafer Alston was a starting guard. Then they brought in Vince as a ‘closer’ (they actually said that), grabbed Big Baby to help rebound, signed Agent Zero Confidence at the nadir of his career, and then got Hedo back when he cost twice as much and played half as well. If you think that’s a solid supporting cast I have some real estate I’d like to sell you while the housing bubble is still strong.

  • Caboose

    Everybody hates Dwight now anyways.

  • Lloyd

    Still finished 6th in the East. They were able to have a decent record with Howard and that was with him averaging a monster double-double. When he had surgery in April, they went 5-9 to finish the season. He didn’t have a good cast at all.

    This year? You mean where they’re 17-44? Forget the Heat, if he stayed they still wouldn’t have beaten the Knicks, Pacers, Nets, Bulls (without Rose), Pacers for sure. The Hawks, Celtics before Rondo went down, and the Bucks would’ve given them a run for their money on any given night.

    At the end of the season, the Lakers are still going to make the playoffs in the West. Orlando would’ve been struggling to be a low seed in the East. I’d take the Lakers disappoint, which no one saw coming, over the perpetual disappoint of mediocrity in Orlando.

  • http://twitter.com/LuisBrownish Luis Moreno

    D-Wade with rookies and washed up players and nobodies made it to the 5th seed. The east was terrible.

  • dN

    being with KOBE, he now knows how to throw teammates under the bus

  • The Philosopher

    Absolutely agree…

  • Chukaz

    Unlike Teo, Dwight’s a millionaire so when he wants a woman to bounce up and down his co(k he simply goes to a bar and someone’s up for it. He doesn’t need to have a long distance relationship with someone he’s never met in real life just so he can have phone sex

  • Matt

    No. Luck and tactical advantage are matching up with your opponent well, having an injury to the best team in the conference (or the team that poses the most threat to your team), hitting shots at a high rate or being lucky and having your opponent miss their shots (Miami was lucky OKC suddenly couldn’t hit their wide-open threes in the Finals last year. OKC was getting good looks all throughout the playoffs but couldn’t make them even though they did in the regular season), getting a few foul calls in your favor, etc. This isn’t about “toughness”. Guys at the highest level have enough “toughness”. They simply need to be better or luckier than the other team.

    “Toughness” might matter to a team like the Lakers, where it seems like Dwight Howard isn’t trying as hard as he can. “Toughness” might matter to the Sacramento Kings, or the 76ers, or the Bobcats. Do you really think that the Heat being “tougher” than OKC was the deciding factor last year? If so, then YOU don’t know your basketball.

  • Matt

    Redick was actually very highly coveted this season. But yeah, I agree with your (and Dwight’s) assessment.

  • Matt

    Rather than saying he doesn’t love basketball, I think it would be more accurate to say that Dwight is selfish. He doesn’t seem to care about the season; he cares more about getting healthy and receiving his next big contract. Whether or not that involves playing is really up to him and he knows it. Dwight also knows that the boos will go away when he starts winning, so the negative press this season doesn’t weigh that much on his overall career.

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