Dwight Howard explains regret over Magic-to-Lakers trade
Dwight Howard says he does not regret leaving the Orlando Magic for the Los Angeles Lakers in 2012, but he does regret how the trade made it seem he hated Orlando. He insists he loved the city and left only for the chance to play with Kobe Bryant.
Looking back on the infamous "Dwightmare" saga, the eight-time All-Star told interviewers that the public fallout with the organization and fans still stings — even though he stands by the basketball decision. The comments resurfaced in coverage from Yahoo Sports and Yardbarker, adding fresh context to one of the NBA's most debated exits. More celebrity sports fallout lives in our Celebrity Breaking News hub.
Key Takeaways
- Dwight Howard does not regret joining the Lakers, but regrets how the exit looked to Orlando.
- He says he loved the city and only left for the chance to play with Kobe Bryant.
- Injuries and personality clashes helped sink the 2012–13 Lakers "superteam."
- Howard later won a 2020 title with the Lakers in the Orlando bubble.
Why did Dwight Howard leave the Orlando Magic?
Drafted No. 1 overall by the Magic in 2004, Howard became the league's most physical and popular center. Orlando reached the 2009 NBA Finals, but the franchise failed to build on that run, and tensions spilled into public view.
"I don't regret (it). It was a tough decision, but I do regret how everything turned out with myself, the organization and the fans," Howard said. "'Cause it really made it seem like I hated Orlando and I hated the city, and it was the total opposite."
"I love the city, I didn't want to leave. But it was the opportunity to play in LA with Kobe Bryant, and I took it," he added. The 2012 trade put him alongside Bryant, Steve Nash and Pau Gasol on a roster many expected to dominate for years.
What went wrong in Howard's first Lakers season?
The experiment collapsed almost immediately. Howard entered 2012–13 still recovering from herniated-disk surgery that robbed him of the athleticism that had defined his prime. Nash, then 38, also battled injuries, while Bryant shouldered a heavy load before tearing his Achilles.
Howard's personality also clashed with Bryant's, and the partnership never clicked. After a first-round sweep, Howard left for the Houston Rockets, ending the Lakers' one-season superteam gamble.
How did Dwight Howard's career come full circle?
After bouncing around the league, Howard returned to Los Angeles in 2019 in a veteran role behind LeBron James and Anthony Davis. He logged key bench minutes and helped the Lakers beat the Miami Heat in the 2020 Finals — staged in the Orlando bubble.
"It didn't work out how I wanted to, but at the end of the day, I got a chance to win a championship with the Lakers in Orlando," Howard said. "I got a chance to play in the NBA for over two decades."
He retired as an NBA champion, eight-time All-Star and one of the era's elite defenders — closing a circle that began, and symbolically ended, in Orlando.