Dwight Howard Reveals Shocking Reason Why He Left Lakers After 2020 Championship

There is a lot you can say about the Los Angeles Lakers' 2020 NBA Championship. Some call it a “Mickey Mouse” ring; others believe it was the most difficult championship for a team to ever win. Regardless of which side you sit on, it is always interesting to relive what happened during and after a controversial Championship like the Lakers’ one in 2020. 

From that 2020 Lakers roster, a lot of the key pieces returned the following season. Unfortunately, the Lakers weren’t able to put together another title run, despite having a very similar core. 

One player who was missing from that 2021 title defense was first-ballot Hall of Famer Dwight Howard. Howard, despite being completely past his prime, played a pivotal role for the Lakers during their 2020 Bubble run. This didn’t assure him a contract for the next season, though. Howard left the Lakers for the 2020-21 season, and the Lakers missed him dearly. 

Now, Howard has revealed the real reason he didn’t return to Los Angeles, and it may have Lakers fans angry. 

"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.

He added, "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."

If the Lakers had kept their word and resigned Dwight would their title defense have gone differently? It’s definitely possible.