Dwight Howard Spotted in Celebrity Basketball Game in Los Angeles

Even if Dwight Howard doesn’t wear an NBA uniform again, he should hold his head high after a successful career

With the NBA teams already nearly done assembling their rosters, it seems that Dwight Howard will still be out of the Association by the time the regular season begins. But he might still be holding out on the possibility of landing another gig in the league, particularly with the Los Angeles Lakers again.

The veteran center was recently seen in L.A., with Ryen Russillo, in an appearance on Bill Simmons’ podcast, saying that Howard took part in a celebrity basketball game in Watts, Los Angeles.

“Do you know I was in Watts this weekend for a celebrity basketball game, and Dwight Howard was there and played in it?” Russillo stated.

Fourth Stint with The Lake Show?

Interestingly, the eight-time All-Star has had three one-year stints with the Lakers. The first was back in the 2012-13 season when he had an ill-fated campaign playing alongside Kobe Bryant. Howard left in 2013 for the Houston Rockets, admitting he thought he would be teaming up with a younger version of Kobe in James Harden.

His second arrival in L.A. came in 2019, finally relenting to the idea that his time as a full-time starter had ended. The three-time Defensive Player of the Year embraced a reserve role, eventually rewarding him with his first-ever ring. Even though he wanted to run it back with the Purple and Gold, the organization seemingly had a different idea.

After a layover with the Philadelphia 76ers, Howard made a return to the Lakers in the 2021-22 season, which ultimately proved to be a failure for the squad as it didn’t make the playoffs.

With no NBA franchise offering him a roster spot in the following offseason, Dwight opted to travel way east and become an import in Taiwan’s T1 League. While the 37-year-old got to put up monster numbers playing for the Taoyuan Leopards, those proved to be empty stats because the Leopards didn’t reach the postseason. And with Howard’s contract dispute with the organization, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the big man’s tour of duty in Taiwan conclude after just one year.

Lakers Roster is Full?

Perhaps Dwight Howard was trying to try out for the Lakers again. After all, he recently told Complex that he “wants to make it back to the NBA.” However, the question is if any team fancies bringing him even for the veteran’s minimum.

The Lakers don’t appear inclined to bring him back. They brought 23-year-old Jaxson Hayes in earlier in the offseason, although it wouldn’t hurt for the franchise to get insurance at the big man spot, especially since it needs more bodies to throw at Nikola Jokic in the playoffs.

It remains to be seen if we’ve seen the last of Dwight Howard in the NBA. If so, the future Hall of Famer should have minimal regrets, as he’s had a career that many other players would give anything to experience.