In an interview with Complex's Zion Olojede, eight-time NBA All-Star Dwight Howard offered some advice for Zion Williamson and Ja Morant after their past seasons were marred in controversy.
Howard is no stranger to fans commenting on his private life, and he's sympathetic to Williamson amid his cheating scandal with former adult film star Moriah Mills. "I'm going to say that's real tough because in the NBA, man, it's really hard to find people you could trust," shared Howard. "I've dealt with a lot of different things in the league and the way I dealt with it is just, I took it as everything in life is an experience and you have to be able to go through it."
He said that while private life drama making headlines is not something anyone really wants to go through, Williamson shouldn't let all the commentary get in the way of his NBA career. "I would say at the end of the day, just be grateful and live," he added. "That's what I did. Good or bad or indifferent, whatever's been said, whatever happened, the goods, the bad, the ugly, I got a opportunity to do something that I love for a living. And any time you pray for rain you got to take the mud that come with it."
Howard said that there are some days when he found commentary on his private life difficult, but ultimately he got the life he "prayed for" and is "very grateful for it." For those who haven't been keeping up, adult film star Moriah Mills alleged she had a three-year-long relationship with Williamson, who is set to welcome a baby girl with his girlfriend Ahkeema. Mills, however, has suggested that she's expecting a child, too, and even threatened to leak a sex tape.
As for Ja Morant, who was suspended for 25 games after he flashed a gun on social media twice, Howard regrets that the situation played out publicly.
"I just hate that it got to be so public like that because now, everybody makes their perception of someone without really knowing them, and perception is not really reality," said Howard. "Perception is just your reality and what you think. That's only your reality. That's not really what's going on. And a lot of people don't know about what's going on with Ja in his personal life."
He said that there's obviously a lot of pressure on Morant, who has achieved a lot of success in the league and he's still only 23 years old. "They don't take all that in consideration how his mind or spirit could be after dealing with so much at a young age. You're asking someone who basically just got out of college to act and be a certain way," he continued. "Obviously, this is a professional sport, but at the same time, like me, I came in at 18 so I had to grow up in front of the world basically. And of course I had some fuck-ups and some mess-ups, but I was a kid and you learning through it. And it's the same thing with Ja. He's learning and I wish nothing but the best for him."
Howard said that he refuses to talk "bad or down" on Morant because of his situation because he's "dealing" with a lot. "More money, more problems, and people don't understand it unless they done had to go through it," he said. "The more money, more problems. Everybody want a piece of you and it's hard. That's hard to deal with sometimes."
Read the full interview with Howard—in which he also talks about his relationship with Los Angeles Lakers and what it's like playing in Taiwan—here.
