Dwight Howard Opens Up About His Time With Lakers

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — It's probably safe to say that Dwight Howard's time in L.A. was not long-lived and filled with wonderful memories.

The Houston Rockets center, whose public image has been on a steady decline for the past few seasons, sat down for an exclusive interview with ESPN.com's Jackie MacMullan talking about moving forward, as well as his time spent with the Los Angeles Lakers.

The Lakers fired their head coach Mike Brown after the first five games of the 2012-13 season - Howard's first in L.A. - the team was plagued with injuries, and ended up being swept in the first round of the playoffs by the San Antonio Spurs.

"You have a reputation of being a little thin-skinned. How hard is it for you not to be affected by what people say about you?" MacMullan asked Howard.

He conceded that even though people consider him a "team cancer", he doesn't feel that way.

"I'm pushing for my team to be together," Howard said.

"When I was in Orlando and we went to the Finals, we had so much chemistry. We were always together," he said. "When I got to L.A., they told me, you don't need team chemistry. You just need to be able to play basketball together."

While playing for the Lakers, many fans and even teammates felt that winning was not his primary concern. MacMullen made sure to ask about that part of his reputation in the sit-down.

"Kobe said he wasn't sure winning was your top priority. Why would he say that?"

"I wanted Kobe and me to work. I just think we were at two different points of our careers. When I went there, people warned me, 'Dwight, you gotta realize Kobe still wants to be the star,'" Howard said. "My response was, 'Fine.' I said the same thing to Steve [Nash]. I wanted to learn from those guys. I wasn't trying to outshine them."

Howard also made sure to make clear in the interview that Kobe was putting a lot of pressure on him throughout the entire season, and even referenced when Bryant told reporters , "We don't have time for Dwight to be hurt."

He also said about Bryant, "I wanted to play with him. I don't know if he didn't want to play with me -- if he felt I wasn't a killer like him.''

Even though many fans of the purple and gold were happy about not re-signing Howard, Dwight had his own take on why he ultimately made the decision to move on from Los Angeles despite Mitch Kupchak and Jeanie Buss wanting him to stay.

"I didn't think it was a good fit. When they fired Mike Brown, they asked me what coach I wanted. I said, 'Phil [Jackson].' They said, 'Well, we don't know about Phil.' So they went out and got D'Antoni, and I'm thinking, 'Well, I guess what I say doesn't matter.'"

"I just felt like it wasn't a team. I wanted a team. There were things that went on during the season that made me feel like I wasn't a part of it, like the thing with Kobe and my shoulder. People were saying, 'Dwight's so strong, he's Superman, he should play through it.' It was a torn labrum. I should have had surgery, but I didn't. I came back instead.

"I'll never forget the game we played against the Celtics in Boston. I hadn't practiced for a while -- I had just been working on the treadmill. But I played in Boston. We got blown out. Coach (Mike D'Antoni) still had me in when we were down 30. After the game, I'm walking off the court and a Lakers fan throws his jersey and hits me in the face. It was my name on that jersey. I will never forget that the rest of my life."

Howard has been on what some might describe as an apology tour the past few weeks, first with his comments on TNT's "Inside The NBA" and now the interview with ESPN.com.