After nearly 20 years in the NBA, Dwight Howard is officially calling it quits. In a social media post on Thursday, the NBA Hall of Famer announced that he was retiring from the game of basketball, saying that he had “more left to give” but that it was “time to move on.”
Howard has not played in the NBA since 2022, during his third stint with the Los Angeles Lakers, and his last time on a pro court was with the Taoyuan Leopards in Taiwan in 2023. He was inducted into the Pro Basketball Hall of Fame in 2025.
“Woke up today on the 12th of this month and I figured it’s time to move on from Superman!” Howard wrote in a lengthy post on Instagram. “But now Im taking off the cape and retiring from all basketball to pour into my family and give back to communities worldwide. I know some of you might think I thought he already ‘retired’ but I didn’t… the game retired me! I still had more left to give ! Yeah I did play professionally for 20 years and Im grateful to be able to say that but I can’t lie seeing these other players still going at it at age 40 inspired me to want to keep trying but now I believe my duty will be to pass it down to the next generation.”
In the post, Howard also wrote that he has a documentary that will release later this year, which he says will tell “the truth about EVERYTHING,” including the story of how he was “taken advantage of by the world.” Details of a documentary about Howard have yet to be announced.
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Howard also said that he would be touring “cities all over the world” to do random acts of kindness on the 12th of every month, in lieu of a retirement tour.
“Since I didn’t get a chance to ever have a farewell tour I decided to create a tour not for fans to appreciate me but for me to appreciate them for supporting me all these years and giving me a reason to smile doing what I love,” Howard wrote.
The news of Howard’s retirement also comes days after reports the Hall of Famer has filed for divorce from his wife, Amy Luciani.
Howard started his career with the Orlando Magic after being selected first overall in the 2004 NBA Draft, opting to go pro right out of high school. After eight seasons there, the center spent time with the Lakers, Houston Rockets, Atlanta Hawks, Charlotte Hornets, Washington Wizards and Philadelphia 76ers.
In addition to being a first ballot Hall of Famer, Howard was an eight-time All-Star and won the 2020 NBA Championship during his second stint with the Lakers.
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