In a piece by Dan Devine of Ball Don't Lie, he delves into the psychology of Dwight Howard's recent 'Sunday Conversation' interview with ESPN's Ric Bucher. The Los Angeles Lakers big man goes into what led to his constant flip-flopping during his time with the Orlando Magic.
Simply: "I wanted everybody to love me."
After seeing what happened to fellow superstar, LeBron James, following his exit from the Cleveland Cavaliers, Howard feared being subjected to the same level of animosity and hatred James endured as soon as 'The Decision' was made. Howard didn't want the same to happen to him. But in his own way, he created a different type of hatred. At least James was a free agent. Howard tried to get away twice while still under contract with the Magic.
"And 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," Howard said. "I never wanted anybody to hate me, you know. I wanted everybody to love me, you know, like me, for sticking around and doing what they wanted me to do. And making everybody else happy. And that was a valuable lesson for me, you know.
"I can't make everybody happy."
Howard is now a Laker, and as Devine shows, there's a lot that goes into this story. Howard didn't want anyone not to like him and somehow did much worse. And now he's playing with a team hated everywhere but in their hometown.
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