Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith had an intervention with Dwight Howard
The conversation began with Charles Barkley asking Dwight Howard, “Why do you think people don’t like you?” and ended with people liking the Houston Rockets center a little more. In between, it was great TV, another reason why “Inside the NBA” has won more Sports Emmy Awards than any other studio show.
There was Barkley and Kenny Smith grilling one of the league’s most frustrating talents, and there was Howard — sitting in for Shaquille O’Neal, who, oddly enough, was at the Sports Emmy Awards with the show’s host, Ernie Johnson — answering just about every question thrown his way with sincerity.
“People have seen the success I had in Orlando and they see me now, and they’re probably like, ‘Man, what’s the difference?'” said Howard. “I think I was very likable in Orlando, and the way that situation ended, I think people felt as though I’m just this bad guy — I’m all about myself, I’m a diva, I’m stuck on being ‘Dwight Howard,’ this famous basketball player. So, a lot of people say, ‘You know what? We don’t like this guy,’ and I hear that a lot.
“It really hurts me, because my heart and my attitude towards the game has always been the same, and my drive has always been there, because I’ll never forget the day I came in here and you told me I wasn’t ever going to be good in the NBA. And I’ll never forget the day Magic Johnson said I wasn’t going to make it the NBA when I was in the 10th grade. And that stuff drives me every day to be one of the greatest players to play the game. So, to hear people say that, it pisses me off, because that’s not who I am. I’ve never been a bad person. It’s not like I want people to like me, because I know people are not always going to like me, but if you get to know me, I’m laid back. I love to have fun.”
Howard, of course, was referring to his own orchestration of his Orlando ousting in 2012, which was awful, and he has a firm grasp on many of the reasons why NBA fans — and Kobe Bryant — indeed do not like him. But that thing about his drive always being there? Chuck asked him about that, too.
“Disinterested? I’m always interested in winning, but sometimes, as a big, you want to feel a part of what’s going on,” added Howard. “If I could go up and down the court, shoot threes, go between the legs, and do all that stuff, that’d be great, but I have to rely on my teammates in certain aspects to get the ball. Now, there’s been times where I’ve been upset and I’ve taken myself out of games and situations, and that’s on me — and I have to grow and be a better player at that.
“So, I’m always interested in the game, and I’ve had the problem with smiling too much. People saying I smile too much or I play too much on the floor, so when I’m not smiling and doing all that stuff, it looks like I’m not interested in the game. So, it’s like a thin line where I’m like, ‘Man, do I not smile? Or do I smile and have fun? And so that’s always been a struggle for me, personally.”
Inside of this diatribe are all the reasons folks don’t like Howard — that he lied to Orlando and quit on the Los Angeles Lakers, and that he’s pointed the finger at his teammates at each stop, which is what he’s also done here by saying, “I have to rely on my teammates,” in a statement that seemed to take aim at fellow Rocket star James Harden. At least he assumes some of the blame here by saying “that’s on me.”
As for Howard wondering about whether he’s smiling too much while he’s playing basketball games, there’s another reason people don’t like him. Not because he smiles too much, although that was a dumb thing that was out there some time ago, but because he’s too conscious of what people like Shaq say about him and wasn’t committed enough to dominating in Orlando and Los Angeles the way Shaq did.
As Taylor Swift said, that’s what people say. Players gonna play. Haters gonna hate. Shake it off.
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Howard is a specimen. Michelangelo wouldn’t have sculpted shoulders like his, for fear of coming off too cartoonish. Which is why someone would still pony up big bucks if Howard were to hit free agency this summer. He has a $23.3 million player option on the table for 2016-17. The “Inside the NBA” crew asked him about that, too — repeatedly — and Howard claimed he hasn’t thought much about it — repeatedly.
Howard did say Houston’s failure to challenge the Golden State Warriors in the playoffs “pissed me off,” he wants to “change that perception that I don’t really take this game seriously” and “I want to win.”
Given his gifts, the dude should’ve owned the NBA for the last decade. He did once, when he carried the Magic to the 2009 NBA Finals. But despite all his complaints about systems not fitting him, he’s had a whole lot of systems in which he hasn’t fit in. And he’s now north of 30 years old. Which is why the trade market dried up for him this past February and why he may not have many suitors this offseason.
Will this segment change how teams feel about Howard? Is he any less of a phony than the guy who pledged his loyalty to Orlando before demanding a trade? Who knows? But it sure was great TV.
As one of Howard’s teammates on the Magic, Glen Davis, said on Instagram and Twitter:
“Y’all watching this [expletive]. This fool finally got his act right. Damn Dwight needed this [expletive]!!!! Good job Chuck and Kenny!!! #real[expletive] … Hope he for real!!!! He was a clown when I played with him. #facts #ask[Quentin Richardson] #ask[Jameer Nelson]”
Come to think of it, I smell the next great “Inside the NBA” segment: Cooking with Big Baby. Stay tuned.
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Ben Rohrbach is a contributor for Ball Don’t Lie and Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @brohrbach
