One of the most unexpected redemption stories for the Los Angeles Lakers occurred in 2020 with center Dwight Howard. The Lakers famously traded for Howard in 2012 with the expectation that he would team with Kobe Bryant to keep the franchise at the top of the NBA.
Of course that didn’t happen and Howard left the Lakers in free agency after one year. When he returned to the Lakers in 2020 expectations were extremely low, and Howard’s contract wasn’t even fully guaranteed. But he would become one of the most important pieces on the Lakers’ run to the 2020 NBA Championship and now has a ring to show for all of his hard work.
And that ring holds another function for Howard as he recently showed off that the way to start his purple Lakers championship customized Rolls Royce is to hold the championship ring on top of the NBA trophy hood ornament, via Bleacher Report:
The way Dwight Howard starts his car is WILD ?
(via dwighthoward/IG) pic.twitter.com/64XV20Byts
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) August 28, 2023
That is an extremely cool feature to have on a customized car like that. The Rolls Royce is Lakers purple and to have that Larry O’Brien trophy as the hood ornament just shows how important that accomplishment is to Howard. His NBA journey was so full of twists and turns, and he went from a low point to reinventing himself and finally helping to bring the Lakers a championship that many thought would happen years earlier.
After being the premier center in the NBA, Howard’s career had fallen off as he was traded multiple times, spending time with teams such as the Charlotte Hornets and Washington Wizards. He went unsigned through free agency, and the only reason the Lakers would reach out and ultimately bring him in was due to an offseason injury suffered by DeMarcus Cousins.
But Howard showed he had turned over a new leaf in 2020 and the Lakers don’t win that championship without his efforts. So for him to cherish that ring and make it a part of that customized Rolls Royce is an extremely creative decision.
Dwight Howard wishes Lakers 2020 Championship team could have stayed together
Following that 2020 championship run, the Lakers front office chose to make some changes to the roster with a handful of players, including Dwight Howard, not returning to the team. But Howard wishes that squad could have stayed together.
Howard recently spoke on this, saying that the 2020 squad had everything and noting the special connection that Lakers team had.
