{"id":2208,"date":"2026-03-13T06:47:31","date_gmt":"2026-03-13T06:47:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.worldwatchalert.com\/?p=2208"},"modified":"2026-03-13T06:47:34","modified_gmt":"2026-03-13T06:47:34","slug":"eight-time-all-star-dwight-howard-says-goodbye-to-the-court","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.worldwatchalert.com\/?p=2208","title":{"rendered":"Eight-Time All-Star Dwight Howard Says Goodbye to the Court"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>LOS ANGELES, Mar 13 (APP): Eight-time NBA All-Star Dwight Howard has officially announced his retirement from professional basketball, bringing an end to an 18-season career that saw him become one of the most dominant centres of his generation.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Howard, 40, released a statement on Thursday acknowledging that while he still felt he had more to contribute on the court, the sport had moved on without him. He said he would now focus on family and community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI want to thank the supporters, as well as the naysayers, the haters, and the people who tried to bring me down\u2014they only made me stronger,\u201d Howard said in his statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Career Highlights<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Selected first overall in the 2004 NBA Draft straight out of high school, Howard averaged 15.7 points, 11.8 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks per game over his career. He earned three Defensive Player of the Year awards, eight All-Star selections, and multiple first-team All-NBA honors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Howard won an NBA championship with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020. His most notable stints were with the Orlando Magic, the Lakers, and the Houston Rockets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Personal Life and Future Plans<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Howard\u2019s retirement comes amid personal challenges, including a recent divorce filing from Amber Howard, following a series of public allegations. Both parties reportedly involved emergency calls in the days leading up to the filing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The NBA veteran hinted that he would share more about his life soon, including a documentary project for fans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Howard\u2019s departure marks the end of an era for one of basketball\u2019s most physically dominant players, whose career remains a benchmark for aspiring centres worldwide.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>LOS ANGELES, Mar 13 (APP): Eight-time NBA All-Star Dwight Howard has officially announced his retirement from professional basketball, bringing an end to an 18-season career that saw him become one&hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2209,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[1731,1734,1729,1732,1730,1733],"class_list":["post-2208","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports","tag-dwight-howard","tag-houston-rockets","tag-los-angeles-lakers","tag-nba-all-star","tag-nba-retirement","tag-orlando-magic"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - 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