Dwight Howard Says He's Not Watching NBA Finals

All-Star center Dwight Howard had a tumultuous first season with the Los Angeles Lakers, as they played well below expectations and were swept by the San Antonio Spurs in the first round of the 2013 NBA playoffs.

After falling short of his ultimate goal, Howard has no interest in seeing someone else achieve it.

According to TMZ, Howard was seen dining with friends at Crustacean in Beverly Hills, Calif., on Tuesday night. While Howard was doing that, LeBron James and the Miami Heat staged an epic comeback in Game 6 of the NBA Finals. They erased a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter and won 103-100 in overtime.

One would think that an elite player like Howard might be fixated on the finals because the Heat and Spurs are teams that he should aspire to beat moving forward. The pain of watching another team potentially win the title is too much for D12 to bear, however.    

Howard said, "I'm not watching ... I'm not playing so ain't no need to be [watching]. I don't want to see nobody win a championship."

Some of Howard's detractors will likely use that quote against him and claim that he somehow doesn't care about basketball, but you can't blame him. He is a competitor who desperately wants to win a title in his own right, so seeing so many other players do it can't be easy for him.

Howard and the Lakers were viewed as top contenders to win the championship heading into the season, but due to a multitude of problems, the Lakers barely slipped into the playoffs as the No. 7 seed and were throttled by San Antonio.

It remains to be seen if Howard will give it another try in Los Angeles next season. The pending free agent is reportedly intrigued by several different teams, and he will basically have his pick of the litter.

Wherever Howard lands, though, he likely hopes that he will play in the NBA Finals next year rather than avoiding them at all costs.

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