{"id":116252,"date":"2025-09-03T08:10:13","date_gmt":"2025-09-03T08:10:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/116252\/"},"modified":"2025-09-03T08:10:13","modified_gmt":"2025-09-03T08:10:13","slug":"is-dwight-howard-retired-from-the-nba-ex-lakers-stars-latest-basketball-stint-revealed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/116252\/","title":{"rendered":"Is Dwight Howard Retired From the NBA? Ex-Lakers Star\u2019s Latest Basketball Stint Revealed"},"content":{"rendered":"

For nearly two decades, Dwight Howard was one of the most physically dominant big men the NBA has seen. Whether through swatting shots into the third row, pulling down boards with brute strength, or dunking with his trademark grin, Howard made sure he leaves a lasting impression on the fans. But in 2025, with the league moving faster than ever, one question lingers for fans: Is Dwight Howard actually done with the NBA?<\/p>\n

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After all, he never truly gave us a farewell tour. No final game, or jersey swap. Just a slow fade into overseas leagues and a handful of podcast appearances. But as it turns out, Dwight hasn\u2019t exactly closed the door, at least not right away.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have not officially retired yet, but I don\u2019t know what I\u2019m going to do yet,\u201d Howard said in February on Podcast P with Paul George. \u201cI thought I was going to get back in the league, but Paul said he didn\u2019t want nobody over 35 playing center\u2026 I asked LeBron. He said he wanted Bronny and he said he\u2019s trying to get Bryce\u2026\u201dThat was just months ago. At the time, Howard, then 39, was still actively pitching himself to NBA stars and teams. He even hinted that he\u2019d reached out to the Lakers again, hoping to fill a need at backup center.<\/p>\n

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USA Today via Reuters<\/p>\n

Howard last played in the NBA during the 2021\u201322 season with the Lakers, averaging 6.2 points and 5.9 rebounds in 60 games. After that, he went overseas toTaiwan to play for the Taoyuan Leopards, embracing a new chapter while still chasing the game. <\/a>By early 2024, the tone started shifting. Speaking with Gilbert Arenas on the Gil\u2019s Arena podcast, Howard opened up in a way that felt different. \u201cI love the game, I\u2019ve always loved it. I\u2019ve put in so much work, so much time. Now I want to give that time to the kids. I done sacrificed so much time away, so I can train and do all that stuff. The kids are getting older\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

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It wasn\u2019t an official retirement but Howard acknowledged the toll of a career that demanded constant movement, training, and sacrifice. He sounded done not with basketball entirely, but with the league that shaped him. By April 2025, the writing was on the wall. Though he didn\u2019t rejoin the NBA, Howard made a stateside return, suiting up for the Los Angeles Riot in Ice Cube\u2019s BIG3 league, under coach Nick Young. It would be his \u201cfinal season of pro basketball,\u201d as reported by Chris Haynes.<\/p>\n

So technically, Dwight Howard<\/a> is retired from the NBA. But not on anyone else\u2019s terms. He never wanted to be pushed out. \u201cI just wanted to play as long as I could play, and retire when I feel like retiring, not when somebody else tells me I should or stuff like that,\u201d Howard said.<\/p>\n

Dwight Howard\u2019s Hall of Fame nod caps a complex legacy<\/p>\n

As of September 2025, Howard is officially a Hall of Famer. First ballot. No questions asked. The numbers told the story long before the plaque was etched. \u201cSo, why not me?\u201d he asked. He doesn\u2019t have to ask that question anymore. Howard is one of only 13 players in NBA history to average at least 15.7 points and 11.8 rebounds over a career. He\u2019s 10th all-time in total rebounds. 13th in blocks. He won three consecutive Defensive Player of the Year awards, made eight All-Star teams, was named All-NBA eight times, and led the league in rebounds five times.<\/p>\n

From 2007 to 2011, Howard was one of the most dominant forces in the league, on both ends. He led the Magic<\/a> to the 2009 NBA Finals, dunked his way through All-Star Weekend with a Superman cape, and racked up accolades in an era when traditional centers were becoming obsolete. And was twice inducted this weekend, both as an individual and as a member of the 2008 U.S. \u201cRedeem Team.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s happening. It\u2019s me being in the Hall of Fame, being inducted in the Hall of Fame as player and then being inducted into the Hall of Fame as an Olympian,\u201d Howard said. \u201cIt\u2019s just like a double whammy, but in a good way.\u201d Even so, Howard hasn\u2019t forgotten past slights. The biggest? Being left off the NBA\u2019s 75th Anniversary Team.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI was wondering if I was ever going to get into the Hall of Fame after the Top 75 thing,\u201d Howard said. \u201cBecause it just seemed like, as far as my basketball play, I haven\u2019t really received that much respect from my years in the league\u2026\u201d His longtime coach Stan Van Gundy agreed. \u201cIt was absolutely ridiculous that he didn\u2019t make Top 75.\u201d That exclusion may still sting, but the Hall didn\u2019t make him wait. It validated everything.<\/p>\n

From No. 1 pick to All-NBA anchor to journeyman to champion, Dwight Howard\u2019s career was full of highs and lows. He transformed the Orlando Magic into contenders, helped reshape modern defensive schemes, and left a bigger mark than critics ever cared to admit. He retires not with a hashtag or press conference, but with a Hall of Fame induction and a final season in the Big3, a league that lets him still be Superman, even if only for a summer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For nearly two decades, Dwight Howard was one of the most physically dominant big men the NBA has…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":116253,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[434],"tags":[49,48,459,82],"class_list":["post-116252","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nba","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-nba","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116252","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=116252"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116252\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/116253"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=116252"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=116252"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=116252"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}