"I'm gonna try to violate him" - Former LeBron James' teammate reveals how Dwight Howard's rough play forced him to weight room

Andre Drummond, LeBron James' former teammate on the LA Lakers, revealed his 'Welcome to the NBA' moment in a recent episode of Paul George's podcast. Drummond shared how Dwight Howard gave him a difficult time when he first started in the league.

The first time Andre Drummond matched up against Dwight Howard, he felt like there was no contest. Howard easily dominated Drummond in the post, which made LeBron James' former teammate feel useless inside the paint. This forced him to hit the gym more often, despite him being against lifting weights.

"I think probably the first time I played Dwight Howard," Drummond said about his 'Welcome to the NBA' moment. "I remember guarding him in the post. It almost felt like I wasn't there. He was backing me down and I'm like there's no resistance. I'm wiping my shoes off like 'Damn man. It's slippery out here today.'"

"I never felt so helpless as a basketball player," Drummond continued. "It made me feel like a little boy. ... I've always been against lifting 'cause like I'm already naturally big. ... I remember after that, I told my trainer, I said 'Yo. Whatever strength stuff you got for me, I will do 'em. I'm not gonna fight you no more.' Ever since that day I told myself 'Everytime I see Dwight [Howard], I'm gonna try to violate him.'"

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LeBron James opens up about his new set of teammates

The LA Lakers took on the LA Clippers on Sunday night. It was a disappointing loss for the Purple and Gold as the Clippers came out on top with a commanding 116-102 win. While the Lakers remain in sixth place in the Western Conference, which still puts them in the playoff picture, LeBron James was blunt about the way his team is currently built.

In late December 2024, the Lakers traded D'Angelo Russell to the Brooklyn Nets for Dorian Finney-Smith and Shake Milton. However, since the arrival of LeBron James' new teammates, they went 4-5. Their record with Finney-Smith and Milton shows that the Purple and Gold haven't improved at all.

James recently opened up about how the Lakers need to be close to perfect moving forward.

“Nah. That’s how our team is constructed. We don’t have room for error — for much error,” James said. “We don’t have a choice. That’s the way our team is constructed and we have to. We have to play close to perfect basketball. And we know the game is never perfect. It’s never gonna be a 48-minute perfect basketball game."

After losing to the LA Clippers on Sunday, the LA Lakers now have a 22-18 record. They are 0.5 games away from falling down to seventh place, while the Dallas Mavericks are one win away from taking sixth place.