Dwight Howard Hasn't 'Officially Retired' from NBA; Reached Out to LeBron, Paul George

Dwight Howard hasn’t played in the NBA since 2022, but the legendary big man isn’t quite ready to call it a career. 

On Monday, Howard said he’s reached out to Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James and Philadelphia 76ers star Paul George about a return to the NBA. 

"I have not officially retired yet, but I don't know what I'm going to do yet,” Howard said on Podcast P with Paul George, a Wave Original. “I thought I was going to get back in the league, but Paul said he didn't want nobody over 35 playing center… I asked LeBron. He said he wanted Bronny and he said he's trying to get Bryce. The last time I told LeBron he said, listen I'm trying to get Bronny and Bryce to be on the Lakers and I'm trying to get Savannah to be– he's going to be the owner of the team so it's a family affair, the whole James family. But no man, I really enjoyed my time with the Lakers. Obviously playing with LeBron, it's a great memory playing with the Lakers. As far as retirement, man, I 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."

Howard, 39, last played for the Lakers during the 2021-22 season. More recently, Howard played for the Taoyuan Leopards of the T1 League in Taiwan during the 2022-23 season. 

In his prime, Howard was a perennial Defensive Player of the Year candidate and was good for a double-double nearly every game. His later years in the league saw him embrace a bench role. He put up 6.2 points and 5.9 rebounds for Los Angeles in 2021-22. 

Howard has been vocal about wanting to return to the NBA in recent months. Ahead of the NBA trade deadline as the Lakers tried to find a center, Howard suggested that he could help fill the need for Los Angeles. 

The Lakers could still benefit from adding another center to play behind Jaxson Hayes and Alex Len, but it’s unclear whether they would be willing to bring in Howard after years away from the league.