Trevor Ariza recently went to Shannon Sharpe’s Club Shay Shay podcast and showed a lot of love to Dwight Howard. As Sharpe enlisted the major achievements of Howard, while discussing his image in the league, Ariza stated that the veteran center has been disrespected a lot in the NBA despite his all-time career.
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Dwight Howard recently responded to the interaction on Instagram with a message of his own. During the show, Sharpe had pointed out how, in his prime, the Superman was a dominant center who won three straight Defensive Player of the Year awards and averaged MVP-caliber numbers. However, Howard was still sometimes treated like a scrub despite such enduring accolades.
Since Howard laughs a lot and always likes to indulge in banter and ‘goofy behavior, Sharpe and Ariza believed that people tend to downplay his on-court accomplishments. “I think he probably was a little bit too goofy. Like, he played too much in my opinion. So, like everybody else, don’t understand that type of personality when they thinking of greatness,” Ariza said.
He also added that people often don’t associate a jolly guy with stone cold ‘killers’ like Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant. In fact, the only fun-loving ‘Killer’ that the NBA accepted was Magic Johnson, ”Having a smile and being a killer, the only person who who can get that off is Magic Johnson.”
It seems like Howard appreciated the love shown by the two as he posted a clip of the conversation on his Instagram. He also revealed his opinions on the matter in the caption. ”At some point the disrespect gotta stop lol. Take the name Dwight Howard away and just look at the numbers & accolades and you won’t doubt what that “player” has done for basketball,” Howard wrote.
“If you worked as hard as me on & off that basketball court and achieved everything you ever dreamed to do in life you would smile too! #nba #basketball #legend,” he added.
Many fans and critics had shown their displeasure after learning that the two-way powerhouse was left out of the NBA All Time Top-75 list that was released in 2021. Many thought that Anthony Davis’ selection over Howard made little sense. Howard became a journeyman at the tail-end of the career but his body of work speaks for itself.
Dwight Howard is in the twilight of his career
Howard won a Championship with the Lakers during the 2020 bubble season. That completes his incredible resume. He then played for the 76ers during the 2020-21 season and then rejoined the Lakers for a third time during the 2021-22 season.
The former All-Star last played in the Taiwan T1 league, where he won the MVP and Defensive Player of the Year honors. He averaged 23.5 points, 16 rebounds for the Taoyuan Leopards and even participated in the All-Star Three-Point Contest.
But the Center wanted to desperately make an NBA comeback. Towards the tail-end of the latest offseason, he came close to an NBA return. He worked out with the Golden State Warriors but the squad didn’t sign him. Currently, he is seeking a roster spot in the European basketball scene and is also open to playing in Australia’s NBL league. Despite turning 38 soon, his top-notch conditioning will still allow him to be a prolific contributor.
