{"id":135644,"date":"2025-06-30T03:27:14","date_gmt":"2025-06-30T03:27:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/135644\/"},"modified":"2025-06-30T03:27:14","modified_gmt":"2025-06-30T03:27:14","slug":"fans-think-dwight-howard-is-returning-to-lakers-after-latest-post","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/135644\/","title":{"rendered":"Fans Think Dwight Howard Is Returning to Lakers After Latest Post"},"content":{"rendered":"

Fans Think Dwight Howard Is Returning to Lakers After Latest Post <\/a> originally appeared on Athlon Sports<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Los Angeles Lakers ended the 2024-25 season with a 50-32 record, securing the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference before being eliminated in five games by the Minnesota Timberwolves. Their playoff run was derailed by the absence of a reliable big man, exposed most clearly when Rudy Gobert dominated in Game 5, finishing with 27 points and 24 rebounds against undersized Lakers lineups.<\/p>\n

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A pivotal factor in the lack of frontcourt presence was the departure of Anthony Davis midseason. The team’s limited size and interior depth often cost them crucial possessions, particularly against bigger opponents like Minnesota had.<\/p>\n

\"Minnesota<\/p>\n

Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert (27) against Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves (15) and forward LeBron James (23).Gary A&period; Vasquez-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

The Lakers\u2019 strategy to play small-ball without a true center left them vulnerable, and their exit highlighted a glaring weakness heading into the offseason.<\/p>\n

That need has fueled speculation about the Lakers\u2019 hunt for a reliable big man.<\/p>\n

On Sunday, Dwight Howard, currently with the LA Riots in the Big 3, stirred conversations with a post on X addressing Los Angeles fans:<\/p>\n

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\u201cDon\u2019t worry we gone bring one back for LA \ud83c\udfc6\ud83d\ude24.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Howard was most likely referring to his current LA team, the timing of the message prompted some to read between the lines about an NBA return.<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you coming back to the Lakers?\u201d one fan asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith the way the Lakers are suddenly being run, wouldn\u2019t shock me. SIGN ME UP,\u201d another fan posted.<\/p>\n

\u201cLAKERS\u2026 SIGN THIS MAN ON A VET MINIMUM DEAL!!!! \ud83d\udcaf\ud83d\udc9c\ud83d\udc9b,\u201d a third fan added.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow that AD gone, we really need you. Y\u2019all owe us a parade,\u201d another fan mentioned.<\/p>\n

\u201cSign. Him. Rob,\u201d urged another.<\/p>\n

Howard was part of the Lakers\u2019 2020 NBA championship team\u2013the only NBA title on his resume. His return would bring playoff experience as well as a physical interior presence. However, he hasn\u2019t played in the NBA since the 2021-22 season.<\/p>\n

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Related: Luka Doncic’s Strong Feelings Toward Dallas Mavericks Surface<\/a><\/p>\n

Related: Dalton Knecht Named in Lakers Trade Report on Saturday<\/a><\/p>\n

This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports<\/a> on Jun 29, 2025, where it first appeared.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Fans Think Dwight Howard Is Returning to Lakers After Latest Post originally appeared on Athlon Sports. The Los…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":99521,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3782],"tags":[495,1013,7,1676,185,251,150,307,152,3954,6,373,308,574],"class_list":{"0":"post-135644","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-minnesota-timberwolves","8":"tag-anthony-davis","9":"tag-austin-reaves","10":"tag-basketball","11":"tag-dwight-howard","12":"tag-lebron-james","13":"tag-los-angeles","14":"tag-los-angeles-lakers","15":"tag-minnesota","16":"tag-minnesota-timberwolves","17":"tag-minnesotatimberwolves","18":"tag-nba","19":"tag-rudy-gobert","20":"tag-timberwolves","21":"tag-western-conference"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/114770191581758484","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/135644","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=135644"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/135644\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/99521"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=135644"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=135644"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=135644"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}