Charles Barkley Asks Dwight Howard to Explain Why So Many People Hate Him

Charles Barkley asked Dwight Howard to discuss why he thinks people hate him on ‘Inside the NBA.'

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Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

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Dwight Howard was on Inside the NBA on Tuesday night filling in Shaq (which is history repeating itself), and during his appearance, he showed that he's self aware when it comes to his popularity amongst fans. 

At one point during the show, Charles Barkley asked Howard to try and explain why he thinks many fans don't like him. Howard pinned the beginning of the hatred on the way things ended between him and the Magic in 2012.

"I think I was very likable in Orlando, and the way the situation ended, I think people felt as though, I'm just this bad guy," he said. "I'm all about myself, I'm a diva, I'm stuck on being this famous basketball player—so people say, 'I don't like this guy.'"

Howard also made things a little awkward by talking about how he remembers a time when Barkley told him he wouldn't be good enough to play pro basketball.

"I never will forget the day I came in here and you told me I wasn't going to make it in the NBA," Howard told Barkley. "And I'll never forget the day that Magic Johnson said I wasn't going to make it in the NBA, when I was in the 10th grade...You know, so that part, to hear people say that—it pisses me off, because that's not who I am. I've never been a bad person."

Additionally, Howard was straightforward about the criticism he's received for appearing disinterested in games this year (such as that garbage about how people thought he didn't look happy enough after James Harden's game-winner over the Warriors in Game 3 of their first round series).

"Disinterested?" he said. "I’m always interested in winning. But you know, as a big, sometimes you want to feel a part of what’s going on."

Howard then added that he feels like he loses no matter what he does.

"I’m always interested in the game," he said. "I’ve had the problem with smiling too much—people say I smile too much—so when I’m not smiling and doing all that stuff, it looks like I’m not interested in the game. So it’s like a thin line, where I’m like 'Man, do I not smile? Or do I smile and have fun?' And so that’s always been a struggle for me personally.'"

Howard also (probably) lied when said he hadn't though about opting out of the final year of his contract with the Rockets, despite the fact that both Barkley and Kenny Smith advised him to use the moment as leverage to get a bigger deal with a franchise that has a better shot of winning a ring (this seemed especially odd considering the report that Smith had interviewed to coach the Rockets).

None of this, by the way, is likely to be what Howard signed on to do by agreeing to be a guest analyst. You can watch the whole video above, and remember it the next time somebody asks you to do them a favor by filling in for them at work.

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