Dwight Howard Announces Retirement, NBA Legend Is Member of Basketball Hall of Fame
Nearly four years to the day of his last appearance in an NBA game, Dwight Howard is officially retiring from professional basketball.
In a statement released on Thursday, Howard announced that he is "retiring from all basketball" and will devote his efforts going forward to working in communities around the world to "do acts of kindness for random to people to give them a reason to Smile."
Howard last played in the NBA during the 2021-22 season with the Los Angeles Lakers. His final appearance was in a win over the Oklahoma City Thunder with 15 points and eight rebounds in 23 minutes.
The Taoyuan Leopards of the T1 League in Taiwan signed Howard to a deal in November 2022. He averaged 23.2 points and 11.5 rebounds per game in 20 appearances during the 2022-23 season.
Since the Basketball Hall of Fame requires players to be out of the sport for only three years, Howard has already been inducted as a member of the 2025 class.
Howard is officially recognized as a two-time Hall-of-Fame inductee for his individual career and as a member of the 2008 United States Olympic men's basketball team known as the Redeem Team that won a gold medal.
After a standout high school career at Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy, Howard was the No. 1 overall pick by the Orlando Magic in the 2004 NBA draft. He is the third-youngest top pick in draft history after LeBron James and Cooper Flagg.
Howard was the main driving force behind arguably the most successful period in Magic history. He made the All-Star team six times and won Defensive Player of the Year in three consecutive years from 2008-09 to 2010-11.
The Magic made the playoffs in each of his final five seasons, including an appearance in the 2009 NBA Finals.
Howard's post-Magic career was largely spent moving around the NBA. He had stints with six different clubs in 10 seasons after being traded by Orlando in August 2012.
The Los Angeles Lakers and Houston Rockets were the only teams during that period that Howard spent more than one season with. He won a title as a member of the 2019-20 Lakers.
Howard is the Magic's all-time leader in points scored (11,435), rebounds (8,072) and blocks (1,344). He's one of four players in NBA history to win at least three Defensive Player of the Year awards.
