When Dwight Howard was inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame last September, many assumed that the honor came post his retirement. Moreover, the 8-time All-Star had not been active in the NBA since the 2021-22 season, and last made a professional appearance with the Taoyuan Leopards in Taiwan in 2023.

However, the ace center shocked the NBA world when he took to social media on March 12 to announce that he was officially retiring from the game.

In a lengthy post, Dwight Howard said, “Woke up today on the 12th of this month and I figured it’s time to move on from Superman! 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!”

Howard continued, “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.”

And while comments under the post appreciated Dwight Howard and his contributions to the game, a good chunk of fans seemed to be surprised by the announcement, as they had been under the assumption that he had long retired.

The Shocked Responses

“He wasn't retired???,” a comment read, as it had been well over 1400 days since his last league appearance.

Another comment echoed a similar sentiment as it read, “Wait, Dwight Howard wasn't already retired?”

A fan further mirrored the same thought, writing, “Who is his agent? Cuz I thought this man been retired?”

Some felt that his getting into the Hall of Fame prior to an official retirement was epic, as a fan wrote, “Dwight Howard really got to the Basketball HOF before being officially retired?! Legendary stuff.”

The shock and sarcasm aside, the NBA community online sent out overwhelmingly positive messages to Dwight Howard, giving the man his flowers as he officially signed off from the game.

Did Dwight Howard’s announcement come as a surprise to you as well? Let us know!

Read more at Air Jordan Chronicles!

Written by

Suryakant Das

Edited by

Arvind Rao