By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
Former NBA champion and three-time Defensive Player of the Year Dwight Howard officially announced that he is leaving the league this season to render his services to Taiwan.
“Taiwan, this is Dwight Howard aka Superman. I am so so excited and I can’t wait to touch down and play for the Taoyuan City Leopards,” Howard said in his Instagram video post.
Howard will be flying to Asia and play his debut season in the Taiwan T1 professional hoops tournament, the same league former Gilas Pilipinas shooter Jordan Heading played before.
After a disappointing free agency season where all teams failed to close a deal with the former champion, Howard made his move and finally tested the waters overseas.
This will be the first time that Howard will be away from the NBA after 18 seasons since getting drafted at no. 1 by the Orlando Magic during the 2004 Rookie Draft.
After one month since the NBA kicked off, Howard expressed that he still wants to enter the league during Shannon Sharpe’s sports show Club Shay Shay.
Howard added that he preferred to play with the Golden State Warriors entering his 19th season but the reigning NBA champs didn’t open any contract discussions.
“I would love to play season 19 and go out on top. I would definitely love to do that. That would be amazing, and get a paradise like I deserve,” Howard said in Club Shay Shay.
Howard was one of the most dominant centers during his prime and led the Magic to an NBA Finals appearance last 2009 but lost at the hands of the late Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers.
The 36-year-old center last played for the Lakers during the 2021-2022 NBA season and will leave the league averaging 15.7 points, 11.8 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game.
