Does LeBron James truly control his teammates’ careers? As fans will agree, James is considered one of the greatest players in the league’s history. His presence and influence alone have an impact that other players cannot hope to compare against.
Since James won multiple championships, he has always been given more control and a voice when it comes to decisions like roster building. It also inadvertently means that James could get players removed from the team if they did not align with him, or at least that’s the reputation he has among fans.
Dwight Howard used to play alongside James and even helped the team win a title in 2020. However, the Lakers did not keep him and moved on from him. Howard recently revealed how his interaction with James caused all of this.
Dwight Howard Claims That Calling Out LeBron James Triggered His Exit
Several team interactions are kept out of the public and the media’s eyes. Disagreements, fights, and so on are usually handled subtly. Howard has a podcast called “Above The Rim with DH12.” In a recent episode, he claimed that his interaction with James got him kicked out of the Lakers.
“I said that, man, and I got kicked off the Lakers. It happened on defense, and I was like “Yo you gotta get back.” And he got mad cos I said something. And I was like “Yo stop acting like a b*tch, man. Goddamn.”
Upon hearing Howard make these claims, fans engaged in a debate regarding whether he really tried to hold James accountable for not running back on defense. Howard made it look like James got enraged at being called out, which made Howard engage in name-calling.
While it is possible that all of this is inaccurate and that the Lakers had several other reasons to let go of Howard, many pointed out that they should revisit adding him to the roster. Especially now that the Lakers no longer have Anthony Davis in their lineup.
It is also difficult to understand the level of professionalism that NBA players maintain when on the court. Only James’ former and current teammates will be able to speak on how they call him out and vice versa.
If Howard did cross a line, James is unlikely to let that get in the way half a decade later. Fans are left wondering why Howard was truly kicked out of the Lakers and if the team will be able to win a championship without him.