Opinion clashes are not unfamiliar to players, sometimes even with coaches. There have been arguments, brawls, reconciliations, and eventually, the beef is squashed. However, Howard’s feud with one Lakers legend didn’t end well. His signature sneakers deal too got caught up in the controversy. But was this still better than the earlier rejection he faced from the brand that had the most iconic ever deal with none other than Michael Jordan?

We are talking about Nike! Signature shoe deals hold very special meaning for players. The entire story behind Nike and Sonny Vaccaro securing the historic deal with MJ remains iconic till this day. So, what’s the story behind Howard securing his deal with Adidas? During his recent appearance on the PBD podcast, the former NBA player revealed that his father and agent had spoken to Nike only once. 

That means we might have seen Howard flaunting his own signature Nike shoes but that never happened. Why? Speaking of the reason behind it, Howard revealed that the brand said, “At the time Nike said I didn’t have a personality which was crazy and I think that’s why I end up going with Adidas.” He was just 18 years old and yet to enter the pro league. 

Well, after Nike, the answer was obvious to Howard. It was Adidas. He had been rocking Adidas (valued at $40 billion) gear since his high school days and was one of the top players at the 2003 Adidas ABCD Camp. Skipping college, he entered the NBA in 2004 and was drafted by the Orlando Magic. He went on to have an impressive 7-year run with the team, winning Defensive Player of the Year and more.

The partnership resulted in six editions of his signature shoes. The D12 line was created for him.  However, he eventually had to part ways with the brand. “When I left the Lakers when I played with Kobe, they said, ‘We can’t keep you at Adidas because the Lakers fans are mad at you,'” Dwight Howard said on “Above the Rim with DH12” podcast. What was the feud between Howard and Bryant? But there’s one more important question.

Why did Dwight Howard return to the Lakers in 2019? 

After Magic, the former NBA champ went on to play for the Los Angeles Lakers alongside Kobe Bryant. He played for the team during the 2012–2013 season. However, Howard’s tenure with the team didn’t go as he had planned. He seemingly had issues adjusting to Bryant.

Much later in a conversation, the 3x DPOY admitted that there were clashes of ego between the players. “In that season that I played here, I think there was a lot of egos that was [sic] in the way of us being the team we wanted to be.  It was really hard for me and Kobe to really communicate. I think we were just at two different mental stages. We had our disagreements and our moments,” he said in an IG live ( as per SI). 

The Lakers ended up getting defeated by San Antonio in the first round of the 2013 playoffs, and Howard left for the Houston Rockets. The Champ added how there were odd rumors that they hated each other after he left. 

This was when he left Adidas and joined the Chinese apparel company Peak. Well, after his first stint with the Lakers, Howard became a journeyman. While he never had the Lakers in mind for a comeback, he decided to change his mind. “I was really upset about how things ended the last time I was in LA and I felt like I got so much criticism for leaving, I was like, ‘Man, I would never go back. I got to forgive. I got to let this stuff go,” he said. 

So, when he was called to join the team again, he agreed. The team ended up winning the championship in 2020, and Howard played a crucial role in it. Years later, the former NBA player also discovered that Kobe’s efforts were meant to test whether he had the winning mentality in him. All this is in the past now.