Dwight Howard fears being hated like LeBron James – NBA News
Dwight Howard recently sat down for an interview with NBA analyst Ric Bucher of ESPN, and talked about a variety of issues, including his trade demand to the Orlando Magic and his subsequent arrival in Los Angeles.
D-12 explained some of the reasoning behind his decision to leave the franchise he had helped build, and led to the NBA Finals on one occasion. He also talked about how the trade to Los Angeles came through and how he feels to be part of one of the greatest
franchises in NBA history.
During his interview, Howard brought up LeBron James of the Miami Heat and how he had faced the wrath of the Cleveland Cavaliers fans when he decided to move to Miami in 2010. James was drafted number 1 by Cleveland, and quickly led the team to the top of
the Eastern conference. However, the Cavaliers made many trips to the playoff with James at the helm, but were unable to clinch an NBA championship. James eventually decided to join Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in Miami in 2010, and the Heat won the NBA championship
this past season.
“It was a tug of war between my feelings and the fans and everybody else and their feelings and what happened to LeBron. And I saw him — everybody hated him for leaving Cleveland and what he did,” said Howard.
James was hated not only by the Cavaliers fans but most of the NBA fans following his decision, and had to face the venom of the fans who thought he had disappointed them. He quickly became one of the most athletes in sports at that time.
Howard talked about how he did not want to face the same type of backlash that James faced when he left Cleveland. However, the way he handled his trade demand with the Orlando Magic, did not go down too well with the fans there, and it is expected that
he will hear plenty of boos around the league next season when he wears the Lakers jersey.
In the end though, Howard reflected on what James said he has learnt during his time with the Heat.
“I can’t make everybody happy,” said Howard.
Howard has definitely made the Lakers fans happy by joining the franchise which is now the favourite to clinch the NBA championship next season. But, there is a lot of team chemistry to build before that can happen.
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