Dwight Howard makes his return to Staples Center and Lakers fans let him have it..
Remember when Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett made their return to the Boston Garden in January? The Celtics organization honored the two future hall of famers with video montages that brought back memories of the good old days in Boston. The crowd was moved to cheers, tears and a standing ovation as Pierce and Garnett were so emotional that they could barely hold back the tears.
Fast forward to last night in Los Angeles. Dwight Howard, one of the biggest villains in the league and definitely one of the most criticized players, made his return to Staples Center. With a Lakers team void of living legend Kobe Bryant, a banged up Steve Nash out due to injury, and Pau Gasol who is dealing with trade rumors galore, Lakers fans haven’t had much to cheer for this season and their terrible 18-36 record shows.
The Staples Center crowd had a good reason to boo last night as they let Howard hear it every time he touched the ball. Fans were trolling Howard all over the gym as the sell out crowd booed him, tricked him with fake high fives and made sure he heard the jeers from near and far. Howard even joined in on the fun as he chanted, “Howard sucks!” with some of the friendly Staples Center fans.
The boos didn’t help as the Lakers were routed by the Rockets 134-108. Howard finished the game with a dominant 20 points and 13 rebounds. Kendall Marshall led a depleted Lakers roster with 20 points and 16 assists.
Howard made his first appearance at Staples Center against the Lakers last night after leaving the team last summer. Superstars rarely leave Laker land and Howard was one of the few to do so. He departed the Lakers organization after a first round sweep by the Spurs and was even accused of giving up on the squad with his poor play and ejections.
The Lakers put on a big campaign last offseason with the simple headline, “Stay.” The Rockets big man turned down the Lakers offer of a five-year, $118 million contract and instead took a big pay cut by heading to Houston for a four-year, $88 million deal. Howard dealt with a lot of criticism from the Laker fan base during his time as a Laker, but he doesn’t blame his decision to leave entirely on the pressure put on him in Los Angeles. The all-star big man says that he simply wanted to be a part of a team that had a chance to win a championship with the Rockets, which was a shot to the Lakers as they are always known for luring in and keeping the league’s top talent.
Check out some of the footage of Howard getting booed and trolled by Laker fans.
-Patrick Hazel (@pattywack25)
