“Well, I’ve been trying to do it for three years. This year I had an opportunity to actually. I didn’t have basketball going on and I had an opportunity.” Dwight Howard once revealed that he wanted to participate in DWTS for the past three years. Finally, the scheduling worked in his favor, but the results didn’t. However, the onetime NBA champion has no ill feelings towards his elimination.

In fact, DH12 and his partner Daniella Karagach, ahead of the semifinal showdown, shared a positive message. “Happy show day y’all 💫 Cheering on all the semi finalists 💜 #dd #dwts.” The five remaining pairs are one week away from the final appearance. There is a possibility that all of them reach that stage unscathed.

Because even last year, the Semifinal turned out to be a surprise non-elimination. Dwight Howard came close, as he missed the penultimate episode by one, and was in the top 6 pairs on the show. “I had an amazing experience. Daniella is an amazing partner. I’m glad that she was here for me. The show meant so much.”

After his elimination, Dwight Howard poured his heart out for his journey, and even his partner did the same. “You know, a lot of people said he couldn’t do it, and we did it. For me, that’s a win.” The Emmy-nominated choreographer expressed a similar sentiment on her social media.

“I’m proud of us @dwighthoward one of my fave @dancingwiththestars seasons yet. Week to week we faced different challenges thrown at us apart from our height difference being the biggest one…I’ll always be there for you. See you at the finale💜 Thank you to all who’ve believed and supported us. We are so grateful! #doubled 🤝✨.”

While they may not have any hard feelings about elimination, DH12 and Karagach did have a decent DWTS run.

From hard watch to a 10, recapping Dwight Howard’s journey

The show began on one of the highest points for DH12. As he earned 22 points for both his week 1 and week 2 performances and was in the top 2 as per the scores by judges. But week 3 is where things did go wrong for the 8x All-Star. During the ‘Soul Train Night’ special, the pair performed a ‘Cha Cha’ routine. The preferred song choice was ‘Let’s Groove’ by Earth, Wind, and Fire, but it did not impress the judges.

“I’m gonna do a little real talk. That was hard to watch. I know you can do better than that, and you’re trying to trick us with all the expressions.” Judge Carrie Ann Inaba was blunt with her opinion, and even the crowd booed her. Fast forward to the ‘Halloween Nightmares’ episode, she gave the pair their first 10. While appreciating the mastery, Dwight Howard had shown during the episode.

Similarly, Derek Hough gave a standing ovation and said, “downright creepy in the best possible way.” Bruno Tonioli also admired DH12 for being focused and determined throughout the act, which he hadn’t seen before. But this couldn’t inspire them to produce similar results during the last week’s performance. That’s why they missed out on the semi-final episode despite coming so far is the reason they are appreciating the other contestants remaining to chase the Mirrorball trophy.