Howard defends reputation: 'I would never try to destroy a team'

Dwight Howard knows his reputation as a locker room agitator preceded his latest move to the Washington Wizards after unceremonious ousters from the Charlotte Hornets and Atlanta Hawks in each of the past two summers.

To that point, the three-time Defensive Player of the Year is willing and ready to defend his honor.

"I'll address that any day. I ain't no bad person. I ain't never been no bad person in the locker room. All this stuff is just lies to try to justify why I was traded, or why I left the team," Howard said in an Instagram Live video earlier this week, as transcribed by the Washington Post's Scott Allen. "But anybody who knows me, who’s been around me, on and off the court, I ain't never been no a-hole, I ain't never been no mean person. I would never try to destroy a team, but that’s a narrative that they always tried to say to me because they couldn't say nothing else."

After having his salary dumped by the Hornets, and then bought out by the Brooklyn Nets this offseason, few of Howard's colleagues came to his defense when former players like Brendan Haywood openly declared that Hornets teammates hated playing with him.

What can't be taken away from Howard is that more often than not, his teams have generally been successful. Since making his first playoff appearance in 2007, the 32-year-old center has reached the postseason in 11 straight seasons, with that streak only coming to an end this spring with Charlotte.

"At one point they were saying I was a great teammate, that I smiled too much on the court," Howard added. "But I smiled my happy a-- all the way to The Finals (with the Magic in 2009)."