From hated to hero: Howard enjoys Hollywood comeback

LOS A NGELES» Dwight Howard swatted the shot into the stands and playfully wagged his index finger, his famous smile visible to the back of the lower bowl at the Staples Center.

And not for the first time Sunday night, thousands of Lakers fans rose from their seats and cheered for the single most reviled basketball player in Los Angeles for the past six years.

Hollywood loves a comeback story, but this big man’s redemption arc is almost too unbelievable for L.A.

Six years after Howard spent one tumultuous season with the Lakers and then spurned them in free agency, his unlikely return to the team this year has begun with an even more improbable development.

Howard is playing superbly, and Lakers fans have already embraced him again after just three games.

Howard made an enormous impact off the bench in Sunday’s win over the Charlotte Hornets, scoring 16 points on 8-of-8 shooting and grabbing 10 rebounds with four blocked shots in just 23 minutes.

And the way he did it — hustling, grinding and playing stellar defense — was wildly appreciated by Lakers fans who largely thought of him as the epitome of an NBA diva just a few months ago.

“I’m just grateful,” Howard said. “I think myself and the fans, we’ve been through a lot together. But just to be back here means a lot, so I’m just taking it all in. Every second, every moment on the court is valuable, and the fans enjoy when we go out there and put everything on the line.”

It’s difficult to overstate the about-face that has occurred for both Howard and Lakers fans. Howard’s every appearance in any uniform at Staples since 2013 had been greeted with deafening boos and vitriol — but in the Lakers’ first three games, he has earned multiple ovations for his selfless, energetic play.

“That’s why we brought him here,” LeBron James said. “We felt like when everyone else was writing him off, we could give him a great opportunity. We believed in him, and his word, and he’s making the most of it.”

It all goes back to 2012, when Howard joined the Lakers from Orlando and teamed up with Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash and Pau Gasol on a potential superteam. Those Lakers foundered and crashed out in the first round after Bryant and Nash were injured while Howard struggled through a back injury.

After clashing with Bryant and reacting negatively to the Lakers’ championship-or-bust culture, Howard was so eager to leave L.A. that he signed with Houston for $30 million less than he would have made in the deal offered by the Lakers. L.A.’s fans took it personally.

Lakers coach Frank Vogel called Howard’s effort against Charlotte “off the charts. He was a star in his role tonight, and that’s what we’re asking him to be.”