Dwight Howard played well Wednesday night, the Lakers came back from 25 points down to beat the Hornets, and afterward teammates like Kobe Bryant and Steve Nash lavished praise on him for his effort on defense and setting screens to open up the L.A. offense. But of course, this is the Year of the Dwightmare, so no good night comes without controversy.
Dwight Howard promises he never meant to insult the old teammates he insulted this week
Dwight Howard had one of his best games of the year Wednesday, but he still managed to end the night in the middle of a media controversy.
While the Lakers were playing the Hornets, Dwight’s old teammates were sounding off in response to comments from earlier this week, when he said, “My team in Orlando was a team full of people nobody wanted, and I was the leader. I led that team with a smile on my face.”
Here’s the response from Magic point guard Jameer Nelson (via L.A. Times):
At some point, when are you gonna, as a man, when are you going to take ownership and stay out of the media in a professional manner?” Nelson told the Orlando Sentinel on Wednesday. “I would be less of a man to comment on certain things that people comment on about me and my teammates. We had a great run as a group, as core guys, and he was a part of it and for him to say things about anybody in a negative manner, that’s up to him.
Former teammate Rashard Lewis added, ”“Hell, look at those banners hanging in the stands. They don’t say Dwight Howard on them.”
And J.J. Redick:
JJ Redick didn't love Dwight's quotes about the Magic, either. "I would be more surprised when Dwight starts taking responsibility."
— Ramona Shelburne (@ramonashelburne) March 7, 2013
YIKES.
When you’re getting roasted by J.J. Redick, it’s probably time to take a step back from the microphone. For his part, Dwight blamed the media for creating all this, saying Wednesday that they’d taken his comments and “twisted it into a negative thing.”
More from ESPN LA:
“It was never intended to disrespect or downgrade any of those guys,” he said. “I would always tell them I wouldn’t trade them for the world. That’s how I viewed it. For the most part, those guys know that. They know who I am and they probably just heard something and people twisted it and turned it in different ways. I’m not that kind of guy. I would never disrespect those guys. It just kind of got blown out of proportion.”
March 6, 2013: Dwight Howard blames media for reporting what Dwight Howard said.
The Year of the Dwightmare continues!
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