Is NBA free agent Dwight Howard serious about a future career in the WWE?
As crazy as it sounds, the big man has dreams of entering the WWE’s ring as more than just a famous face. Wrestlers beware!
Though his career is not yet over, the veteran already has an idea what he might do when it is and it just may surprise you.
Dwight Howard has his eye on the WWE
As a free agent, Dwight Howard spent the last season alongside LeBron James and Co. on the roster of the Los Angeles Lakers. Yet, it’s not basketball that we’re here to shed light on but rather the colorful and entertaining world of the World Wrestling Entertainment company. Recently seen at the WWE’s tryouts in Nashville, Tennessee, Howard happily disclosed to reporters that participating in the WWE is he’s very interested in doing when his playing career comes to an end. “I think it is something that’s in my future. I love the WWE. I love wrestling,” Howard said. “Hopefully one day in the future, I’ll actually be in the ring. ...I’ve been watching this my whole life and I was like, ‘Man, if I had an opportunity to do this, I was going to do it with my whole heart to the best that I can.’” If you’re wondering how soon that will be, Howard himself remains certain that he’ll be playing in 2022 despite the fact that no team has signed him.
Indeed, this most recent campaign was not the best for the eight-time All-Star and three-time Defensive Player of the Year. With an average and career low of 6.2 points and 5.9 rebounds in just 16.2 minutes per game, Howard contributed little to what turned out to be a disastrous season for the Lakers. That’s being said, it would be a mistake to write off the big man who has spent 19 seasons in the NBA, since being drafted as the No. 1 overall pick by the Orlando Magic back in 2004. Regardless, what’s clear is that Howard has his heart set on a future in the ring and moreover is relishing the idea as his reference to the WWE as “the best business in the world,” would seem to indicate.
Have other NBA stars been in the WWE?
Though there aren’t currently any NBA alumni in the WWE, it’s curious to note that a handful of current stars have appeared at some of the organization’s events in recent times. Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young for example, was on hand for a wrestling gig last September which was held at the Madison Square Garden. Then there was Lonzo and LaMelo Ball who appeared on “Monday Night Raw” in 2017 with their father, LaVar Ball, back when Lonzo was first drafted by the Lakers and LaMelo was still in high school.
As for former stars, who could forget when Shaquille O’Neal first used the ‘Superman” nickname, during his three appearances in the ring? Yet, perhaps the most famous of all NBA cameos in the WWE is that of tag-team match that involved former Utah Jazz star and two-time MVP Karl Malone alongside WCW’s Diamond Dallas Page, in a match against Hulk Hogan and the infamous former NBA star Dennis Rodman in 1998. Incidentally, Malone would actually go on to appear once more in 2017, while Rodman made a habit of stepping into the ring throughout his NBA career.
Dwight Howard is looking to make WWE and NBA history
If you’re wondering whether or not this is some kind of joke, then think again. Howard has high hopes about becoming the very first former NBA player to officially join the WWE ranks as more than just a guest act. Indeed, the big man even stated that he’d like to start in Orlando, Florida which isn’t just a major WWE hub, but the place where it all started for him in the NBA. For now, we’ll have to be satisfied with him continuing to ply his trade on the court until he finally steps into the ring of wrestling.