"Why did you do that to us?" - Dwight Howard blames Rob Pelinka for breaking up the 2020 Lakers

The 2020 Los Angeles Lakers was a special team. It was Anthony Davis’ first season with the Purple and Gold. AD, alongside LeBron James , led the Lakers to an incredible championship run in the Orlando Bubble.

Due to the playoffs taking place in the Orlando Bubble, many disregard its credibility and importance. But it still counts as championship banner No. 17 for the Lakers. Apart from Davis and James, the roster had a talented supporting cast, including Alex Caruso, Dwight Howard, Rajon Rondo, and other players.

However, the Lakers front office decided to go in a different direction after the 2020 championship run and broke up the core team. Since then, the 17-time NBA champions have struggled to reach the same heights in the postseason.

Howard blames Rob Pelinka for breaking up the 2020 roster

Dwight Howard played for the Lakers on three different occasions. But Howard’s most memorable run with the Purple and Gold must be the 2019-20 season where he won the sole NBA title of his career.

Although Howard was no longer in his prime, he played a crucial role as a defensive anchor off the bench. Anyway, even the 3x NBA Defensive Player of the Year was puzzled when the Lakers decided to break up the 2020 championship-winning roster. The former NBA center blamed Lakers GM, Rob Pelinka for it.

“ After we won, they started tweaking the roster,” Howard said . I’mma tell you who it was—Rob Pelinka, man. God, Rob, why did you do that to us, man? Rob, come on, man. I still love you, Rob, but dang, man. We had the squad, bro. Even if we ran it back, we could have run it back. We would have been healthier for the next year.”

As Dwight says in the podcast, the 2020 Lakers had fantastic chemistry. Even though the season was interrupted due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the Purple and Gold came back stronger in the Orlando Bubble and ended up winning it all.

How have the Lakers performed since winning the 2020 NBA title?

The Lakers’ decision to change direction after winning an NBA title in 2020 has hurt the organization. Since then, the Lakers have made it to the playoffs in three out of four seasons. They had two first-round exits and barely reached the 2023 Western Conference Finals. With James turning 40 years old in a few months, the Lakers’ championship window is closing faster than ever.

Although the franchise is prepared to make a bid for Luka Doncic when Bron retires , they still have to build a competitive roster until that day arrives.

The Lakers finished the previous season as the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference and couldn’t get past the Denver Nuggets in the opening round. Can they finally reach the NBA Finals for the first time since 2020? Only time will tell.

Related: Dwight Howard offered to help the Lakers contain Nikola Jokic: "I'm still in shape"