On Friday, it was reported that Dwight Howard chose to leave the Los Angeles Lakers and join the Philadelphia 76ers as a free agent.
It appears he made that decision in order to get more playing time.
We're hearing that a deciding factor in Dwight's decision to sign with the 76ers was playing time.
— Lakers Daily (@LakersDailyCom) November 21, 2020
After years of being dogged with a negative reputation, Howard turned around his legacy with L.A. during the 2019-20 season.
He played a pivotal role off the bench for the reigning NBA champs by boxing out, rebounding, protecting the rim and finishing strong in the paint.
However, he played just 18.9 minutes a game this past season, which was a career-low.
It’s an open question as to whether Howard will actually get more minutes with the Sixers. The team possesses Joel Embiid, a superstar center who saw the court for 29.5 minutes a game in the 2019-20 campaign.
On the other hand, Embiid is injury prone, and should he get hurt again this coming season, the Sixers will have to count on Howard more than the Lakers did.
