Dwight Howard said his life away from basketball led him to hit his rock bottom during the offseason.

"It didn't have anything to do with basketball," Howard said Wednesday during an introductory conference call with reporters. "It was just stuff going [on] in my personal life. Mentally, physically and spiritually. It had nothing to do with me as a basketball player or anything like that. It was just personal things that I had to deal with which made me stronger."

The Los Angeles Lakers signed Howard following the ACL injury to DeMarcus Cousins.

"I never had any ill will toward any of the fans here in L.A.," Howard said. "I loved this city from the first moment I've been here and started playing in the NBA. It was never nothing against anybody here [on] the team or anything like that, it was just a decision I made. I love this city. I love playing in L.A. I'm back here, so none of that stuff in the past even really matters to me anymore. I think we all have a fresh start."

Howard worked through his personal issues by reading and performing meditation exercises. 

"This summer was very important to me as an individual," he said. "Got a chance to really isolate myself. Not from people but just really isolate, really try to get alone and become one with myself and become more balanced. This summer was really, really important for me."