When Dwight Howard was a member of the L.A. Lakers back in 2012, things did not go well. His mentality was questioned constantly and he was even called "soft". Dwight lasted just one year with the Lakers before getting shipped to Houston.
Now, Dwight seems to have redeemed himself in L.A. and is competing in the dunk contest for the first time since he competed in the contest three years in a row from 2007-2009 (as a member of the Orlando Magic) and winning it in 2008 with his Superman dunk. At age 34, he understands that his competition will be significantly younger than he is, "Now that I'm competing against some way younger guys, I have to find a way to really make the dunk contest fun for the fans and really entertaining," Howard said. "So came up [with] some pretty good ideas, so things are going to be a lot of fun."
And how does Dwight plan on making the dunk contest fun for the fans? He is seeking out the help of Lakers legend Kobe Bryant. Dwight told reporters, "If I can get all the Laker fans to lobby to get Kobe to help me in the dunk contest, that'd be really good. That'd be awesome."
He has not reached out to Kobe yet, saying he wants the fans to get behind him first and helping to set the table.
Will Kobe oblige? We will find out on February 15th.