Through the 2024-25 season, the Los Angeles Lakers have had a total of 506 players suit up for them, going back to their days in Minneapolis. Some were forgettable, some were serviceable, some were good and a select few were flat-out legendary.
During the Lakers’ 80th season of existence (they were founded back in 1946 as the Detroit Gems in the National Basketball League), LeBron Wire is taking a look at each player who has worn their jersey, whether it has been a purple and gold one or the ones they donned back in the Midwest during their early years.
In the summer of 2012, the Lakers seemingly struck NBA gold by trading for both point guard Steve Nash, a two-time MVP, and center Dwight Howard. Howard, who was 26 years of age at the time, had been named the Defensive Player of the Year three times in a row, and it was hoped that he would become the franchise’s next legendary center after being a perennial All-Star with the Orlando Magic.
But Howard, who was coming off back surgery, never quite fit in offensively with Los Angeles. While he averaged 17.1 points, a league-high 12.4 rebounds and 2.4 blocks a game, he never seemed happy as a member of the team. After it was swept in the first round of the playoffs amidst a gnarly rash of injuries, Howard left in free agency that summer to join the Houston Rockets.
Over the next six seasons, he would play for four different teams, including the Rockets, and he developed a reputation as a malcontent while his production dropped. In 2019, the Lakers decided to take a flyer on him at a time when seemingly no other team wanted him. Howard was asked to come off the bench, sacrifice scoring and focus on defense and rebounding.
Many were skeptical he would actually do so, but that is exactly what he did. He averaged 7.5 points and 7.3 rebounds in 18.9 minutes a game, all of which were career lows, but he played a key role in the Lakers winning the NBA championship. After spending the following season with the Philadelphia 76ers, Howard returned to the Lakers for his final go-around in the league.
He ended up with career NBA stats of 15.7 points, 11.8 rebounds and 1.8 blocks a game, and he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2025.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Lakers jersey history No. 12/No. 39 — Dwight Howard
Reporting by Robert Marvi, LeBron Wire / LeBron Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
