Eliminated From DWTS, ‘Teary’ Dwight Howard & Daniella Karagach Make Final Address to Loyal Fanbase

“Well I’ve been trying to do it for three years. This year I had an opportunity to actually…It’s the best decision I made to come on the show.” Dwight Howard, earlier, revealed that he was contemplating for three years before the dates were aligned for this season of DWTS. Sadly for the fans of the DH-12, the road ends here. Apart from the comments on the show, he did a remarkable job with his social media posts so that fans laugh and cry at the same time.

“Thank you guys so much. Oh my God! We couldn’t have done without you, me, and the little gazelle. We did it.” Acting all emotional to give fans one more moment to remember. Even partner Daniella Karagach said thank you guys while acting emotionally. But broke her character and started laughing when she heard the word gazelle. The video on Instagram had the caption, “Thank you everyone for voting for us these past couple of weeks 🥹🙏🏼❤️.”

Even though Dwight Howard and his partner tried to be funny while speaking about the elimination, the caption on the post was one to read. “Although we didnt make it to the finale we made it as far our journey of growth could take us and the process was so beautiful to be apart of 🙏🏾❤️🥺 Thank you so much @daniellakaragach for being my partner & teaching me dance 🫶🏾.” Even Karagach’s husband and dance pro on the show commented, “❤️❤️❤️.”

The 3x DPOY added another post, “All good things must come to an end but GREATNESS never stops 🕺🏾 @daniellakaragach I’ve been so grateful to have had you as my partner🥺🫶🏾 Thank you for everything 🙏🏾.” For the Emmy-nominated choreographer, it wasn’t an easy task, despite winning the show a few seasons ago with former NBA star Iman Shumpert.

Dwight Howard is 5 inches taller than Shumpert, who is 6 foot 5, yet Karagach at 5-ft-7 made it work. “Anything side by side works. Anything in frame is very difficult to do… We make it work.” But what happened during the episode that led to their elimination?

Dwight Howard was unable to score ten again

For the special 500th episode, the pairs had to perform twice. One was a regular routine, and the other was ‘The Instant Dance Challenge.’ For their regular routine, Dwight Howard and Daniella Karagach chose ‘Argentine Tango‘ inspired by the Season 23 performance on ‘Santa Maria (Del Buen Ayre)’ by the Gotan Project.

Judge Carrie Ann, in the previous episode, rated 10, but this time gave 8. She wanted to see more dancing from the NBA Champion. The other two judges rated 9 each.

For the instant challenge, they revived Paso Doble as a dance style and song ‘Victorious‘ from Panic! At The Disco. All the contestants just had 5 minutes to rehearse before they performed. Judges appreciated Dwight Howard for his attempt but felt that the routine had timing issues. That is why his score was  22, with two 7s and one 8 which also was the lowest of the night.

Their overall total of 48, was also the lowest, and this time the audience votes also couldn’t save them. “I had an amazing experience. Daniella is an amazing partner. I’m glad that she was here for me. The show meant so much,” said DH-12 on the show after elimination.

Karagach shared about her partner, “You know, a lot of people said he couldn’t do it, and we did it. For me, that’s a win.” Howard wanted to be a role model for his kids to never back down from any challenge. That is why, despite the loss, it’s still a huge win for former Lakers star.