Dwight Howard Explains Why Playing With LeBron James Has Been ‘Wild,’ ‘Crazy’ and ‘Shocking’

By Jonathan Sherman
Updated: May 13, 2020

Brian Spurlock / USA TODAY Sports

Los Angeles Lakers big man Dwight Howard has played with some major NBA stars throughout his storied career, but he still hasn’t quite gotten over the fact that he’s currently teammates with superstar LeBron James.

Howard spoke about it while chatting on Instagram Live with fellow Lakers veteran Jared Dudley.

“Man, it’s been wild, man,” he said. “I remember telling my sister, man, me and LeBron been playing against each other since we were 15, 16 years old. And I was like, man, we’ll never play with each other, you know. We always like playing against each other. All of a sudden, we end up teammates. I couldn’t believe it. And I’m like wow, this is crazy, I’m playing with LeBron James. It’s still shocking. … We like brothers from another mother. It’s crazy, it’s crazy.”

James and Howard were two of the most exciting prospects in the early 2000s. James was the No. 1 prospect in the 2003 class, while Howard was the No. 1 prospect in the 2004 class.

Both players went straight from the high school ranks to the NBA, and both players went on to become two of the biggest young stars in the league.

In fact, Howard’s Orlando Magic defeated James’ Cleveland Cavaliers back in the 2009 Eastern Conference Finals.

Since then, James has of course gone on to win three NBA titles. As for Howard, he has unfortunately struggled with a number of injuries and is certainly no longer the star force he once was.

Still, the lovable big man has served as an exemplary role player with the Lakers this season. He has shown a clear willingness to do the dirty work that has helped his team rack up wins.

Both Howard and James are surely hoping that they’ll be able to help the Lakers get wins again in the near future.

While the COVID-19 pandemic is still keeping most Americans indoors, all of the league’s biggest stars are reportedly determined to return to basketball soon.

How soon that return is remains to be seen.