Dwight Howard has transitioned into life as a veteran NBA big man nicely. Howard, who is currently an unrestricted free agent, has spent time with the Los Angeles Lakers and the Philadelphia 76ers over the last three seasons, a stretch which has seen him play a ton off the bench and includes him getting his only championship back in 2020.
This is not, however, what Howard wants out of his career right now. Despite the fact that he is going to turn 37 in December, Howard spoke to Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson on their “All The Smoke” podcast and expressed his belief that he’d thrive if given a larger role at this stage in his career. But because he has not been offered that, Howard mentioned that he is considering retiring.
“I wanna play, but at the same, there’s like no teams that wanna really allow me to play,” Howard said at the 7:36 mark of the above video. “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 sh*t, and then get back to a team and sit on the bench when I can really help somebody win and still play,’” Howard continued. “I ain’t lost a beat, it’s just I sit on the bench, so people don’t see that, teams don’t see that. 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?’”
Over the last three years, Howard has appeared in 198 games, but he’s started only 35 and played 17.5 minutes a night. As for what could come next if he calls it a career, Howard has expressed an interest in joining WWE.