Dwight Howard says he can’t hear Lakers hate but he definitely heard this fan call him a ‘b*tch’

Dwight Howard and the Los Angeles Lakers are linked together, forever, in ways neither side expected when they first came together. Howard, now two teams removed from his Hollywood stint, will always be a villain under the Staples Center spotlight.

The boos remain plentiful for him, as Tania Ganguli of the Los Angeles Times captured while the Lakers were working on their season sweep of the Atlanta Hawks Sunday night:

Naturally, media had to ask how he felt about hearing the boos even though the wounds are far from fresh. Dwight’s response was what you’d expect at this point, essentially no commenting the situation as if he was blissfully ignorant of the boos echoing in the building. Our next stop is Bill Oram of the OC Register, who transcribed his few-words responses on his return to LA:

He closes his ears? That seems unlikely, so let’s continue down this rabbit hole. Howard apparently had a few things to say about the “hate” he gets in Los Angeles to his teammates, as Shawn F. Matian (who was in attendance) noted:

So yes, it seems he heard it. No, he probably doesn’t want to talk about his past with the Lakers anymore, especially in that context. Clearly, though, his ears aren’t THAT shut.

The prosecution would like to present its final piece of evidence against the claim that Dwight can actually shut his ears and ignore Lakers fans. Or maybe it’s just the word “b*tch” that triggers them to open and causes him to respond, via TMZ Sports:

After a loss to the Lakers, where the boos he apparently heard despite denying it were raining on him, a little heckling can go a long way.

Thoughts, Kobe?