So far Dwight Howard had been voicing his interest for a return to the league, but now it’s the fans. It all started with a recent podcast appearance of Jeanie Buss on Howard’s Above The Rim podcast. Buss even admitted that the franchise intended to extend an offer to D12, but things did not pan out as planned. Now, the most recent development in this is Howard dancing with the Laker girls, as visible in a recently shared IG post by the official handle of LeBron James’ team.

Now, some may consider this as the side stint of D12 amid his ongoing Dancing With The Stars run. The caption to the post–“Dancing with our Star: @DwightHoward”–also points to the same. But the fact that this follows a chain of events makes it just more than that. The first event in this was the aforementioned appearance of Buss on D12’s podcast.

The 3x Defensive Player of the Year took the moment as an opportunity to sing out his desire to the owner of the LeBron James-led team. “Jeanie, give me one more chance.” Now, Howard may have downplayed it by signing it in a humorous way, but the desire has been there for quite long.

And the spark of possibility that emerged from the discussion between D12 and Buss further received wind from Howard’s public appearance with JJ Reddick outside what seemed to be the Lakers facility. “Good seeing you JJ… Talking to you brought back flashbacks of when you told me to come to Duke with you and next thing you know we were competing in the finals against the lakers… Now you’re the coach… I’m proud of you good luck this season…” he wrote in the caption, sharing the video from the moment.

Now, the chain of events has many fans demanding for the 3x DPOY’s return.

A certain section of fans wants to see Dwight Howard in LeBron James-led Lakers

One IG user in Laker Girls’ recent post, straight away cut to the chase, and expressed his desire to see D12 in purple and gold. “Sign that man,” he wrote. Meanwhile, one took a sarcastic approach to the same demand that many already had in the comment section. “Hey, this guy might have a good career in basketball,” he hilariously wrote.

However, one IG user felt that all of this dance with Lakers girls comes just in an attempt to get closer to his dream of returning to the NBA. “What can you do to get a spot? @dwighthoward: hold up,” the user commented.

Well, the 3x DPOY has never been secretive about his desperation to return to the league. Whether it be expressing his desire to close his NBA career with the Magic, or very subtly pitching in as a back up if the New York Knicks were looking for one. One user even predicted how it’s all gonna work and thus lead to D12’s return to the Lakers. This, however, included a shot at LeBron James and his son Bronny.

“It’s only a matter of time before LeGM trades his own son… Leta get Dwight now…” Not the first time that someone took a dig at Bron in recent time. And the name LeGM (General Manager) has been a taunt ever since JJ Reddick and Bronny got into the Lakers. Now if you wonder if it’s just the nostalgic support for Howard, there are some who see him as a value addition to the team.

“We need this Guy as a BACK UP FOR AD he’s still a solid Center…” wrote one IG user. Now, although his stats and output significantly dropped in his last season in the league, he surely displayed an impressive performance in T1 league with Taoyuan Leopards. Averaging 23.2 points, 16.2 rebounds per game in 20 appearances, he earned himself 2023 T1 League Most Valuable Import among other accolades. Now, it’s to be seen if the demand for D12 back in LeBron James & Co increases. And if the Lakers actually respond to it.