Dwight Howard On ‘Podcast P With Paul George’

Paul George and Dwight Howard talk new all-star format, his retirement, and the Lakers’ future on “Podcast P with Paul George”.

We share this week’s episode of “Podcast P with Paul George” (a Wave Original), PG and the guys sit down with Dwight Howard to discuss his relationship with LeBron, the new All-Star format aimed at boosting viewership, and Dwight’s thoughts on retirement.

EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS

• (11:14): PG AND DWIGHT ON THE NEW ALL-STAR GAME FORMATS

DWIGHT: “Yeah, I mean it is really opinion based. Obviously some people are going to like the new format. A lot of the players are going to have an issue with it because they’re used to the norm, they’re used to the All-Star game being East versus West of two teams and then the rookie game but I think the NBA is just trying to find so many different ways to bring viewership, to get more people to come to the games, to be entertained and it’s hard. After Covid, everything just really changed. People stopped coming to games and started streaming games. So they’re just trying to find so many things.”

PG: “I hundred percent agree. I think obviously Draymond’s message was a hundred percent. I think people were offended by the delivery of it, but I think a hundred percent All-Star Weekend is for the All Stars, the guys that carry the league and I think what it did do was make the game competitive. You had the OGs that didn’t want to show up or get shown up by these rising stars. So I thought it elevated the game to have the OGs play harder to not be embarrassed. So what the NBA did I thought was trying to be creative to make the game more interesting, more entertaining, more competitive. I liked that aspect of it. At the end of the day, I think what Chuck said too was an honest and I think a great opinion about ultimately our generation missing what the All-Star weekend meant and that was putting the best players together and watch them compete hard. And I also think what they did with mixing East and West kind of changed things up as well because now you take out that rivalry of Eastern Conference and Western Conference. So I think it’s a lot that goes into the elements of why All-Star Weekend isn’t what it is. I do love that 1 on 1 but that goes along with we already having trouble with dudes getting in a dunk contest because of the embarrassment or playing hard and All-Star weekend because of the embarrassment. So now you really going to get stripped and we really going to see how you play 1 on 1 and if you’re going to play hard in that scenario as well. So I think it’s just a tough, I think challenge that we’re trying to tackle with how can we improve All-Star Weekend.”

• (01:14:39): DWIGHT ON HIS RETIREMENT AND THE LAKERS BECOMING A “JAMES” FAMILY AFFAIR

DWIGHT: “I have not officially retired yet, but I don’t know what I’m going to do yet. I thought I was going to get back in the league, but Paul said he didn’t want nobody over 35 playing center… I asked LeBron. He said he wanted Bronny and he said he’s trying to get Bryce. The last time I told LeBron he said, listen I’m trying to get Bronny and Bryce to be on the Lakers and I’m trying to get Savannah to be– he’s going to be the owner of the team so it’s a family affair, the whole James family. But no man, I really enjoyed my time with the Lakers. Obviously playing with LeBron, it’s a great memory playing with the Lakers. As far as retirement, man, I just wanted to play as long as I could play, and retire when I feel like retiring, not when somebody else tells me I should or stuff like that.”

• (01:26:37): PG ON TAKING A BREAK FROM PODCAST P

PG: “It’s no secret this season is up to this point, man. It hasn’t been what we envision. I know my goal when I first signed with Philadelphia was to bring a championship to these amazing fans here. I still remain positive about that and that is still the case and where I’m coming from. With that being said though, I want to let the podcast p family know that after today’s episode with Dwight, I plan to take a break from the pod just to focus on getting my body right, getting mentally right and help this squad make a push towards our goal. To finish the season, I’ll give ourselves a chance to be in contention to compete for a championship. I won’t front– The desire to get back to shooting in person with my guys as well is the forefront of this hiatus as well. I look forward to us three being back together and doing this as we once started this. So we’ll be back on that note, be sure to lock in with us because we got some big things in store in our future. In the meantime, y’all be easy. From Podcast P– love and peace.”