Dwight Howard last played in the NBA for the Lakers in 2022 and has spent the last two years plying his trade overseas. Before leaving the US, he actively hunted for a spot on an NBA roster and had discussions with multiple teams to no fruition. The three-time Defensive Player of the Year has seemingly given up on his dream of returning to the league after several frustrating conversations.
Advertisement
On a recent episode of Above The Rim with DH 12 podcast, Howard, who signed for the Taiwan Mustangs of The Asian Tournament in May, revealed why he’s planning on continuing to play overseas. He said,
“I was fed up. I was fed up with all the cap and the lies. I was like, man, I’d rather just go somewhere and hoop because it’s just too many lies… Getting up at the same time, training. I can’t even do stuff with my kids because I’m making sure I’m in the gym making sure I’m straight. And I’m doing this to sacrifice for the team for them to tell me I ain’t going to play or this that.”
He added that he was miffed about putting in the work but receiving only 10-day contract offers from teams. The frustrating situation prompted him to move overseas. Howard suggested that he felt disrespected about teams not offering him a roster spot despite his willingness to be a role player, which was a difficult transition to begin with.
Dwight Howard struggled with the idea of being a role player
For nearly a decade, Howard was among the most menacing centers in the league. He was a defensive juggernaut and a dominant post player, earning eight-straight All-Star nods from 2007 to 2014. But the advent of the three-point era and his age diminished his star power tremendously, which he struggled to deal with.
He reluctantly accepted that he’d no longer get opportunities to be a starting center and joined the Lakers as a role player in 2019 and helped them win the NBA title. When they opted not to re-sign him for the 2020-21 season, Howard joined the 76ers, hoping to have the same impact he had in LA.
However, that wasn’t the case and the veteran center believes that the team sold him short by not utilizing his strengths. On an episode of the Above The Rim with DH 12 podcast, he said,
“I remember back in Orlando if I ran the floor, and posted up in the middle of the paint, I would get the ball. But here I am playing in Philly, run to the floor, posted up and the the coach is like, ‘Get out of the way, what’re you doing!’ And I’m like, ‘God I’m wide open!'”
Howard rejoined the Lakers for the 2021-22 season but couldn’t have the same impact he did during their championship-winning run. At the end of the campaign, he joined Taiwan’s Taoyuan Leopards, ending his 18-year stint in the NBA. It’s unlikely he’ll ever play in the league again and will have to continue playing overseas until he calls it a day on his Hall of Fame career.
