Just hours after the Lakeshow crumbled in Game 1 of their first-round series against Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets , Dwight Howard boldly posted a Superman picture of himself on X, hinting at his close observation of the matchup.
As he got plenty of online heckling and trolling from the fans, the future Hall of Famer instantly refuted their claims by noting that he remains ready to help L.A.
"Lebron 39 I'm 38! I'm still in shape ya saying that was 3 years ago but I'm still in shape lol," Dwight wrote on an X post.
No purple and gold for Dwight
Even though Purple and Gold could use the former DPOY to defend the Joker, who just dropped an efficient 32 points and 12 boards in Game 1 for the Nuggets, the Lakers cannot sign a contract with Dwight as their roster is already finalized. Per league rules, teams cannot change, modify, or add another player to their 15-man lineup amid the playoff action.
Also, Howard cannot commit to the Lakers as he remains under contract with Mets de Guaynabo of the Baloncesto Superior Nacional. He and the Puerto Rican ball club just agreed to a new deal last month, and a potential buyout would be illogical considering their circumstances.
Dwight is nostalgic
As it is, Dwight's desire to be back in Los Angeles is rooted in his instrumental role in the franchise's last championship. He helped the Lakers slow down Jokic in their Western Conference Finals duel. Even the Serbian superstar admitted that facing the Lakers in that series presented him the toughest challenge .
" I think… It was the bubble right when they (LA Lakers) had 3-4 big guys, when they AD, JaVale (McGee)," Jokic said, who averaged a passive 21.8 points and 7.2 boards in five games against the purple and gold.
However, D12 has aged significantly since then. His game has also taken a massive decline, and he has been out of the league for a while. As Dwight's performance has dipped over the years, the same can’t be said about the Joker. Now at the prime of his career, Jokic has improved dramatically since the 2020 playoffs, and he's now completely unstoppable, especially on the offensive side
Dwight might be fooling around when he proclaims he can still deliver and play in the NBA. The former No. 1 pick has the right to do these things since he'll go down as one of his generation's best players . But for basketball sanity and considering the state of his career right now, it might be good for him to finally kill the nostalgia and admit that his ship has already sailed.
Related: Mark Jackson doesn't have an issue with D'Angelo Russell's poor shooting in Game 1 vs. Denver: "Don't worry about that"
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