by Riley Schmitt

Dwight Howard was in a ton of headlines this summer leading up to his trade to the Los Angeles Lakers. In an attempt to repair his image and promote some new products, Howard has been in China. He was playing Pop-A-Shot with a lucky fan when he fell behind. This led to Howard cheating at the game like the sort of villain that he is.

All joking aside, Howard was really not trying to win this game. I think the blocking shots part was meant for a lighthearted laugh, but you can make the case that he’s a jerk. Then again, you would have to be a pretty big cynic to make a mountain out of this molehill.

Plus, Howard trashed his own legacy and reputation the past season or so. Making constant trade demands, submarining his own team for personal game, making everyone who loves basketball hate him. The list goes on and on. That is a lot of negative for a little less than one calendar year.

He is going to have to slowly start rebuilding his legacy. It took LeBron James about two years after his ill-fated Decision and it looks like it could take Howard more time than that. He is totally in the spotlight now and failure will lead to more people taking shots at him. It might not be fair, but he did create this environment around him.

Dwight, if you really want to get fans back, don’t cheat at games like this. It’s that simple, even if you did let the other guy win.

Riley Schmitt is a writer for Rant Sports.

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