NBA All-Star and Lakers Champion Dwight Howard has often been described as a polarizing figure, with his personality rather than his stats being the supposed determinant of his exclusion from the NBA’s 75 greatest players list.

Is this a petty judgement or is it the basketball association suggesting that the sport doesn’t exist in a vacuum of talent – a bubble where all else is excused with an ignorant focus on skill?

Howard has been openly critical of the NBA, saying that the “business side of it” has had a negative impact on his passion for it.

“The business side can cause you to really lose some passion. I know people are like ‘how? You’re getting paid millions of dollars!’ But for Jalen [Rose] and myself, the game is much bigger than just dollar amount. We love having money in our pockets and being able to travel the world, but we want to win, and we want to be able to show the world our talents,” Howard told ESPN, a few years ago.

He added: “I would say after the situation in Orlando, where everybody felt as though I was this big, mean, crazy guy, that I just wanted to destroy franchises. And I go to L.A. and it seemed like me and Kobe didn’t work. I lost some of that passion then. I had back surgery, I wasn’t supposed to play for a whole year. I came back, tore my labrum, still played. It just seemed like I couldn’t find a break.”

What are youth thoughts? Is the notoriety of Howard’s personality being exacerbated, or was this exclusion called for? Dare to dissent by challenging this post!