Dwight Howard spent the first eight seasons of his career with the Orlando Magic. Howard didn’t exactly leave the city he began his career in on good terms, but now that he is playing with the Los Angeles Lakers one might assume that would all be water under the bridge. It didn’t seem that way after L.A.’s loss to the Magic on Sunday.
According to the Orlando Sentinel, Howard walked off the court at the Staples Center following his team’s 113-103 loss without talking to any of his former teammates or coaches.
“That’s fine,” Jameer Nelson said when asked about Howard’s snub. “Certain guys don’t shake hands after the game.
“I don’t have any hard feelings to the guy. He made a decision to do what he did. He’s on the team that he’s on. I’m here in Orlando, where I want to be. I just wish him the best of luck. I’m not going to go up and hug him and kiss him or anything like that. I think my coach would be mad at me.”
Glen Davis added that Howard probably didn’t want to shake hands because the Lakers lost.
“If he wants to walk off the court, it’s cool,” he said. “No hard feelings, you know? He lost. I would feel bad, too. I wouldn’t want to shake anybody’s hand. So it is what it is.”
As we said a couple weeks ago when Kobe Bryant left the floor with a few seconds still remaining in a Lakers loss, some players just have a hard time accepting defeat. Two Celtics stars walked off without shaking hands following their Game 7 loss to the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals last year, so Howard didn’t invent the move. That being said, he had to have known snubbing his former team would warrant more attention.
