Former NBA superstar Dwight Howard has arrived in Taiwan. Howard arrived in Taiwan on November 10 after signing a contract with professional T1 League’s Taoyuan Leopards.
Howard was born in 1985 in Atlanta, Georgia. He was the best high school basketball player in the country in 2004, leading to him being drafted first overall in that year’s NBA draft by the Orlando Magic.
Howard would go on to become a superstar in the league. He received the nickname “Superman” because of his dominance on the court and incredible jumping ability for a 120kg player. He would win three NBA Defensive Player of the Year awards from 2009 through 2011. He was also one of the five best players in the league for five years and won a championship with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020.
But Howard’s NBA career had taken a turn for the worse recently. He had played for six different teams over the last six years. And this year the 36 year old Howard couldn’t find a team willing to sign him. So he decided to take his talents to Taiwan, where basketball is the most popular sport and the two professional leagues are hungry to grow their popularity. He says he loved the fans here on previous trips and wanted to give back to them.
Howard was met at Taoyuan airport last week by hundreds of fans eager to welcome him. And this week a video of Howard touring a local night market and eating classic Taiwanese foods like oyster omelet and grilled chicken butt has garnered tens of thousands of views online. Howard is by far the most famous basketball player to play in Taiwan. Leopard games have all sold out since news broke of his signing, meaning that he just may take basketball to new heights in the country.