Categories: Courtside

Dwight Howard says Batman helped him choose the Houston Rockets

Reason number 265 why Dwight Howard left the Lakers for the Houston Rockets. Batman guided him. In a recent interview, Dwight revealed that he looked to “The Dark Knight Rises” last summer to help him reach his decision. In the scene, Batman and his assistant Alfred.

“I actually wrote (them) down and can tell it to you — it’s from Batman,” Howard tells USA TODAY Sports. “Batman and Alfred were having a discussion (in the 2012 Batman movie The Dark Knight Rises), and Batman didn’t like what was going on and he felt like the best thing he could do was just hide.

“Alfred told him, ‘You have to endure it. You have to take it. People will hate you for it, but that’s the point of being a legend. You can be that outcast. You can make the choice that no one else can make, and that’s the right choice.’ “

“I kind of took that with me in this situation in L.A.,” he continues. “It was hard, something that most people wouldn’t have done, because they’re looking at the whole situation and people are going to think that I’m running (from the pressure), and people are going to think this or that.

“But I’m like, ‘Man, I want to be this legend, I want to be at the top. So I have to endure all that hate, all that criticism. I have to take it, and that’s what’s going to make me the person and the player I am.’ “

People are really still this interested in why Dwight left LA as if it isn’t obvious? At this point, it doesn’t matter anymore. I’m ready to see the output. That’s what will ultimately decide if it was the smartest decision.

This isn’t what I envisioned when “Superman vs. Batman” was announced.

Jill Munroe

Jill Munroe is a Los Angeles-based host, producer, and writer. You can find her work on sites such as FoxSports.com, EURweb.com, and MSN.com. Munroe is a current member of the African-American Film Critics Association and the National Association of Black Journalists. Munroe has also been a frequent guest on ESPN radio and Yahoo Sports. In 2015, Munroe released her first book, "PostGame Pass: access into "the life" JillMunroe.com