After a challenging playoff run in the Orlando bubble, the Los Angeles Lakers made their stay worth it by winning a championship in 2020. Before the NBA shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it became clear that L.A. was the best team in the league.
A big reason for their success in the postseason was the ability to adjust to an opponent’s playstyle. The Portland Trail Blazers started two bigs, and the Lakers matched that. The Houston Rockets played small, so L.A. started Markieff Morris. The Denver Nuggets’ best player was Nikola Jokic, resulting in the Lakers starting Dwight Howard to disrupt him with his physical play.
With most reigning champions, they decide to run it back the following year to see if that success is sustainable. However, it did not pan out that way for the Lakers and Howard ultimately confusingly left during free agency.
During that free agency period, the big man would originally posted on social media about his return to the purple and gold before deleting it and instead signing with the Philadelphia 76ers. Howard and Lakers governor Jeanie Buss talked about that 2020 free agency period and finally got to the bottom of what actually happened on Above The Rim with DH 12:
Buss: “We won in 2020, thanks to a big part of you bringing us that championship.”
Howard: “I was sad. I wanted to come back and I don’t know what had happened.”
Buss: “You took an offer from the Philadelphia 76ers!”
Howard: “Because what I was told was that you guys didn’t have an offer for me.”
Buss: “Oh no, that’s not true.”
Howard: “I’m [still] in shape for basketball, so Jeanie give me one more chance.”
It appears Howard’s agent was not truthful about what the Lakers were actually offering:
I was so shocked to hear the Lakers had an offer for me but my so called agent told me lies 😤 same agent that cost me $7mill man I’m glad me & Jeanie cleared that up
I know it’s too late but why not…I’m in shape 🤷🏾♂️ my former teammate that I went to the finals with is the… pic.twitter.com/nDlcyu29um
— Dwight Howard (@DwightHoward) October 14, 2024
While L.A. did not run it back with the same 2019-20 roster, the front office made necessary improvements to still compete for another championship. Some could argue that the 2020-21 team would have won it all again if Anthony Davis and LeBron James did not miss extended time.
Ultimately, Howard would make a return for his third stint with the Lakers during the 2021 offseason. But it became evident that he was not as effective as he was during the championship run a few seasons ago, so even though he wants to come back once again, that is unlikely to happen.
Phil Handy agrees with Dwight Howard about 2020 Lakers
In hindsight, no front office should break up a championship team, but seeing how the Lakers went about their roster choices after the 2020-21 season is the issue.
Acquiring Dennis Schroder and Montrezl Harrell, two Sixth Man of the Year candidates, seemed like a no-brainer at the time. However, Phil Handy and Dwight Howard recently agreed that general manager Rob Pelinka should not have made changes to the 2020 team.
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