Dwight Howard says he is starting his own pro basketball league
Jan 15, 2016; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Rockets center Dwight Howard (12) arrives at Toyota Center before a game against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
Dwight Howard is apparently trying to pull an Ice Cube.
The eight-time NBA All-Star Howard revealed in an Instagram post on Thursday that he is joining the Taiwan Mustangs. Howard will be both a player for the Mustangs and an owner of their league. The Mustangs will also be competing in The Asian Tournament later this year, Howard added.
Having played for the Taoyuan Leopards in the 2022-23 season, Howard already has experience in Taiwan. In his post, Howard said he had a vision after his very first game in Taiwan and told a friend, “Man I’m going to start my OWN league one day where former nba players, top college recruits, and elite international players can still get a stage to showcase to the world how great they are.”
It is unclear at this point if Howard is truly starting his own league from scratch or if he is simply purchasing an ownership stake in an already-existing league. But Howard also said in his post that he plans to reveal more details about the league in an upcoming episode of his podcast.
Now 38 years old, Howard has not played in the NBA since the 2021-22 campaign. After his stint in Taiwan on the Leopards in 2022-23, he played in the Dubai International Basketball Championship earlier this year with another Asian team.
Howard had made headlines around this time last year with his public efforts to lure big NBA names to Taiwan. He obviously has a much tougher sell than, say, the BIG3 since Howard would be asking his recruits to come all the way overseas. But Howard has clearly enjoyed life in Taiwan and is now set to hit the recruiting trail again as a player-owner in the country.