Howard: I haven't considered retiring yet, and I asked Paul and LeBron for help in returning to the NBA

Former NBA star Dwight Howard said on Monday that he is not considering retirement for the time being.

Dwight Howard, 39, is a 2.08-meter-tall center who entered the NBA as the No. 1 pick in 2004. He has played 1,242 regular season games for the Orlando Magic, Los Angeles Lakers, Houston Rockets, Atlanta Hawks, Charlotte Hornets, Washington Wizards, Philadelphia 76ers and other teams, averaging 16.2 points, 12.1 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game.

Howard has also been selected to the All-Star Game eight times, was named Defensive Player of the Year three times, and won the 2020 NBA championship with the Lakers. Since leaving the NBA in 2022, he has moved to several overseas teams, including the Taoyuan Everbright Leopards of the Taiwan T1 Professional Basketball League, SGA Athletic of the Philippine Basketball League, Guaynabo Metropolitan of the Puerto Rico Professional Basketball League, and the Taipei Mustangs of the TAT Asia Tour.

Various signs indicate that Howard has no intention of retiring from professional basketball and is actively seeking an opportunity to return to the NBA. He said on the podcast "Podcast P" hosted by Paul George: "I haven't officially retired yet, but I'm not sure what to do next. I thought I could return to the NBA, but Paul (George) joked, 'We don't want players over 35 to play center...'"

"I asked LeBron (James) about that, too. He said he wanted Bronny to join the Lakers and was working on getting Bryce to join. The last time we talked, he said, 'Listen, I'm trying to get Bronny and Bryce to join the Lakers, and Savannah...' He's going to be the owner of the team in the future, so this has become an overall plan for the James family."

Howard added: "However, I really enjoyed my time with the Lakers. Fighting side by side with LeBron is one of my good memories with the Lakers. As for retirement, man, I hope to decide when to leave the court by myself, not by others."