After playing 18 seasons in the League, Dwight Howard’s NBA playing career may be coming to an end depending on his role on a team.
On an appearance on the All The Smoke podcast with Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson, Howard admits that he wants to continue playing, but did consider retirement at some point.
“I wanna play, but at the same time there’s no teams that really wanna allow me to play. That’s how I’ve been feeling from the last situation with the Lakers. I felt like I did enough to help them win a championship to really deserve a spot on the team and a chance to start and get big minutes, and it didn’t happen.
So after that I was like, ‘Man, I don’t wanna have to bust my ass for another whole summer, train three-a-days, go on a crazy diet, do all this s–t and then get back to a team and sit on the bench or not get to really help somebody win.’ … And it’s been like, ‘Damn, do I wanna just call it quits and do some other stuff or go back at it and show people I still got it.’”
Howard’s resume speaks for itself, from being an eight-time NBA All-Star to a three-time Defensive Player of the Year throughout his career. However, he has not averaged over 20 minutes a contest since his 2018-19 campaign in Washington, where he appeared in nine games.
After winning a title with the Lakers in 2020 as a backup center, Howard is currently an unsigned, unrestricted free agent. In the twilight of his career, the eight-time All-NBA player is looking for one last, real chance.
