?How the Mighty Have Fallen?: Lakers Fanbase Explodes As Ex-NBA Champion Willingly Goes to Taiwan in Career-Altering Move

Former Los Angeles Lakers star Dwight Howard just dropped a major announcement! The 5x NBA rebounding leader recently announced that he has joined a Taiwanese basketball team known as the Taoyuan Leopards. After playing in the NBA for 18 seasons, Howard has decided to take his talents overseas. He broke the news on October 7, 2022, via his Instagram story.

Dwight Howard entered the league through the 2004 NBA Draft. He established himself as one of the best centers in the league for a considerable amount of time. In 2021, he re-joined the Los Angeles Lakers for the third time after winning his first-ever championship with the franchise in 2020. However, given the disappointing season, Howard chose to depart from the purple and gold team yet again.

Unable to find a new team to join, Howard chose to join the Leopards. Besides, he will not be the only former NBA player on the Leopards roster. Howard will be joining former NBA players Deyonta Davis, Daniel Orton, and Troy Williams in the Republic of Formosa.

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The Leopards were founded in 2021. It is one of the six teams that were formed as part of the T1 League. With an NBA alum player such as Howard, the team is seemingly building a strong roster to compete in the league.

Former Lakers star Dwight Howard joins the Taoyuan Leopards

‘The Superman’ has built an incredible resume for himself over the years. In his entire career, the 8x All-Star has played for seven teams that include Orlando Magic, Houston Rockets, and Washington Wizards. Howard has a career average of 15.7 points, 11.8 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks. After spending 18 years in the NBA, Howard is all set to make a fresh start in Taiwan which will be his new home for now.

“Taiwan, this is Dwight Howard, AKA Superman and I’m so so excited and I can’t wait to touchdown in Taiwan and start playing for the Taoyuan City Leopards,” said Howard in the video.

The NBA champion was visibly excited about the new chapter of his life. However, fans don’t quite seem to share that excitement as they feel it is a huge step down for the 3x NBA Defensive Player of the Year. Let’s take a look at some of the tweets.

https://twitter.com/aJamesLife/status/1589806297255677952?s=20&t=GN0-NdiwRKryMrT6fIt9Xw

https://twitter.com/Ryles____/status/1589805972834332672?s=20&t=JHX84y2s_OWQYwDID0HKiw

https://twitter.com/GoatedBrunson/status/1589806003960569856?s=20&t=JHX84y2s_OWQYwDID0HKiw

https://twitter.com/debe_yt/status/1589806067311312896?s=20&t=JHX84y2s_OWQYwDID0HKiw

Evidently, Howard was not the only one who could not find an NBA team in the 2022-23 season. His former Lakers teammate Carmelo Anthony is still looking for work after failing to join a team.

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Do you think Howard made the right choice by choosing to join an overseas team? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!