Former NBA star Dwight Howard, who played for 18 seasons in the NBA and won a championship with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020, has signed to play for the Taoyuan Leopards in the T1 League, the club announced yesterday.
Howard, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2004 NBA draft with more than 1,200 NBA games under his belt, is expected to debut in the year-old professional league on Saturday next week, when the Leopards face New Taipei CTBC DEA at National Taiwan Sport University Arena in Taoyuan.
“I am so excited, and I can’t wait to touch down in Taiwan and start playing,” Howard said in a video posted on the Leopards’ Facebook page.
Photo: AFP
“This is my third time in Taiwan and I haven’t been for so long,” he said. “I can’t wait to see the fans and eat the food and have the best time ever, and bring the championship for Taoyuan City.”
Taoyuan Leopards general manager Brett Su (蘇翊傑) said in a statement that Howard’s addition would transform the Leopards into Taiwan’s strongest team and boost the overall level of play in the league.
“We hope to raise the level of domestic basketball by injecting more enthusiasm and creating a better environment,” Su said.
The Leopards on Saturday are to hold a news conference to introduce Howard before practice that day, the team said.
Howard played last season with the Los Angeles Lakers, his third stint with the team, before becoming a free agent.
In his 18-year NBA career, he was an eight-time NBA All-Star and a three-time Defensive Player of the Year.
The 2.08m-tall Howard, who turns 37 next month, made almost US$250 million in salary during his NBA career, statistics Web site Basketball Reference showed.
Additional reporting by Bloomberg
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