The paths of LeBron James and Dwight Howard once crossed long before their initiation into the NBA. A 15-year-old Howard faced the St. Vincent-St. Mary (SVSM) teenage prodigy James for the first time in his high school years. The center was taken aback by the brilliance of the 16-year-old as he revealed insights on the All The Smoke podcast a few years ago.
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The Georgia-born remembered learning about the 19x All-Star from one of his friends right before the matchup. He mentioned, “I remember my homeboy saying, ‘Y’all gonna go play against LeBron?’. I was like, ‘Who the f**k is LeBron?'”. “He said, ‘Bro, that n***a supposed to be the coldest ever bro already. He ain’t even went to the league,'” Howard recollected his friend warning him.
Soon after that, the 6ft 10″ star witnessed the excellence of the small forward firsthand upon his visit to Houston. “First warmup lined up, he do his little signature [dunk]. Whole crowd go crazy. My whole team looking down there, ‘Damn, you see that’,” he highlighted. By that time, the 8x All-Star was left mesmerized by the prowess of the Akron-born as he recalled declaring, “That’s LeBron James”.
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This further showcased the dominance of James in the high school basketball circuit as the expectations surrounding him started to rise. Only a couple of years later, the 6ft 9″ forward entered the NBA as a teenager to answer the questions surrounding his capability. His hometown franchise Cleveland Cavaliers selected him as the 1st overall pick in 2003. Following that, he never had to look back.
Interestingly, Howard’s career followed a similar trajectory as he entered the draft just a year after that. The Orlando Magic showcased faith in the youngster as they selected him as the number one pick. Soon, he rose the ranks to become the face of the franchise while cementing his place as a modern-day great. Thus, his admiration for James carried a certain volume as it put forward his respect for the 4x champion.
The complicated dynamics between LeBron James and Dwight Howard
For the majority part of their career, the duo had to face each other as rivals. One such memorable instance took place in the 2009 Eastern Conference Finals when the Magic faced the Cavs. Despite registering a marvelous 231 points in the six-game series, James failed to help his team reach the NBA finals on that occasion. Howard had the last laugh as his organization proceeded to face the Los Angeles Lakers after a 4-2 triumph.
More than a decade after that, the duo united as they shared the common aim to help the Lakers win a championship. Eventually, they succeded as teammates by defeating the Miami Heat 4-2 in the finals. Both the veterans played a key role in the victory as James won the Finals MVP and Howard earned his first ring by embracing the task of guarding the opposition’s center.
Over the years thus, their closeness increased as Superman took that opportunity to mock the 4x MVP several times. After the Lakers went behind in the conference finals last year, Howard jokingly stated, “Bron. 0-2. I know you the king. You the GOAT. Why not come to Taiwan for one game, my boy? You done did everything in the NBA, my boy”.
So, the distance between them was mitigated over the years despite sharing parallel careers throughout the journey. The two teenage rivals reached a point of appreciation for each other over time before eventually deciding to join forces. In the end, it helped fulfill the dream of Howard while solidifying James’ status as an all-time great.
