Lakers Champion Admits He Was Depressed Not Being In The NBA

Los Angeles Lakers NBA Champion Dwight Howard spoke about not being in the NBA.

Oct 11, 2020; Lake Buena Vista, Florida, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) and center Dwight Howard (39) celebrate their win after game six of the 2020 NBA Finals at AdventHealth Arena. The Los Angeles Lakers won 106-93 to win the series. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports / Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Dwight Howard is among the best 100 NBA players of all time.

The former superstar hasn't played in the league since the 2021-22 season when he was in his third stint with the Los Angeles Lakers.

That year, Howard averaged 6.2 points and 5.9 rebounds per contest while shooting 61.2% from the field in 60 games.

Apr 7, 2022; San Francisco, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers center Dwight Howard (39) hangs on the rim after a dunk during the second quarter against the Golden State Warriors at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports / Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports

Over the previous few years, he has played overseas.

In a recent episode of his podcast (Above The Rim with DH 12), Howard got extremely honest about the first few years of not being on an NBA roster (h/t HoopsHype).

Howard: "Sometimes you've got to get out of a situation to find yourself. That's why I ran to Taiwan. I needed to find who I was again the first time I came to Taiwan. I was depressed like hell. I'm like I know I should still be playing in the NBA. I know I do. I know I'm supposed to be playing... Coming over here, these people gave me wings. I never take these people for granted. They gave me the opportunity to come just hoop."

Howard recently led his new team to the championship.

Via Howard's Instagram post on August 3: "Life is a crazy thing look how I got cut from the league now I own a league 🤷🏾‍♂️🏀🏆 First Championship as a player/owner many more to come 🏆 @theasiantournament #nba #basketball #theasiantournament2024"

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Dwight Howard (@dwighthoward)

The 2020 NBA Champion played 18 seasons for the Lakers, Hawks, Wizards, Hornets, Magic, Rockets and 76ers.