Dwight Howard has had a rollercoaster career in the NBA with some real ups and downs. There's no doubt, however, that he'll best be remembered for his time with the Orlando Magic.

The center enjoyed his most productive years with the Florida-based franchise during his eight seasons with them.

He led them to the NBA Finals in 2009 as well as securing three consecutive Defensive Player of the Year awards and numerous All-Star appearances.

But his career in Orlando ended on a sour note as his final year was marred by controversy.

Cringeworthy moment

In April 2012, he was involved in an awkward public interaction with former head coach Stan Van Gundy in front of a gathered pack of media.

While Van Gundy was addressing the press, his star player decided to join him by putting his arm around his shoulder and telling reporters that everything was fine between them.

The problem was, however, that the ex-Magic coach had just finished confirming a report that the big man had asked the front office to fire him.

During a guest appearance ESPN's 'The Jump' last week, Howard explained that bizarre moment from six years ago, calling it part of "the worst day of my life."

"The first question is like 'Dwight, they said you wanted to get Stan fired.' I was like 'Oh, my God,'" Howard recalled, per ESPN.

"That was literally the worst day of my life. We had a game that night. And that was the worst game I ever played.

"Like, I could not hit the basket for nothing. And you would have thought -- I don't know what was going on that night, but it was the worst ever.

"So, man, shoutout to Stan, man. Shoutout to Stan, man."

At that time, the team was in the midst of a losing streak and they suffered a 16-point loss to the New York Knicks on that same night where their superstar posted just eight points on 4-for-8 shooting with eight rebounds and five fouls.

No going back

The 32-year-old explained that he was advised by some in the media to join Van Gundy's media scrum to show that he was OK with him and to portray that their relationship was fine.

"They said, 'Hey you should go put your arm around Stan and let everybody know you all are OK,'" Howard said. "So I was like, 'OK, I don't have a problem with Stan.'

"So I go out there, put my arm around Stan, he says a little line, I say something, and he just jets out of there."

But it was clear that their relationship became strained from that moment and just months later, both men had departed.

Van Gundy was fired after losing a first-round playoff series to the Indiana Pacers and Howard was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers after he requested a move.

Dwight hasn't hit the heights he did in Orlando since he left and has featured on four teams after his time the Sunshine state.

That was a special time in the team's history and everything has since gone downhill for all the parties involved after the acrimonious split.

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