NBA
NBA: After the Lakers, he is preparing an incredible conversion
Free since the start of the summer, Dwight Howard is in limbo for his future after a move to the Lakers. All options are therefore possible for him, including the most surprising. Passing through Nashville on Thursday for the WWE regional castings, the pivot tried a few wrestling exercises and clearly opened the door to a retraining.
At 36, Dwight Howard is approaching retirement, especially since his contractual situation does not allow him to see the future with precision. Back with the Lakers at the start of the season, the pivot is coming out of a difficult year and is now free, with few options for the future. During his 18 seasons in NBA, Dwight Howardeight-time all-star, made his mark by being defender of the year three times and five times a member of the All NBA First Team. A record that would make many dream, but the former player of the Magic now has other ambitions, in a discipline that is surprising to say the least.
Dwight Howard trains… with WWE
This weekend, the WWE is in Nashville for one of its big meetings of the year, summer slam. A wrestling show attended by Dwight Howard, before a possible participation in the future? This scenario seems possible. This Thursday, the former player of Lakers was spotted in Tennessee to take part in the test day organized by the WWE to test young talent. Microphone in hand, the eight-time All-Star of the NBA showed his skills as a showman in front of Paul “Triple H” Levesqueformer glory of the WWE and now a high-ranking company executive, before practicing some drills in the ring. An experience that visibly convinced Dwight Howard.
Dwight Howard made an appearance at the #WWE Tryout on Thursday ahead of #SummerSlam this weekendThe former Lakers player did a promo and participated in in-ring drills, in view of a possible retraining as he explained to @ArashMarkazi #NBA pic.twitter.com/tX13knpoS8
— Bernard Colas (@BernardCls) July 29, 2022
“I hope one day I will be in the ring fighting”
Present in Nashville, the journalist Arash Markazi was able to witness the first steps of Dwight Howard in wrestling before talking to the principal concerned. ” I think it’s something that is part of my future. I love WWE, I love wrestling and I’m so grateful to be here, to see all of this, and to try out. I hope one day I’ll be in the ring fighting, waving a belt. It would be amazingexplained the former pivot of the Lakerswhich does not close any doors for its future. I would obviously like to play in the NBA. That’s what I’ve done all my life, I love basketball and it’s my passion. I still have a few years ahead of me and so I would really like to play in the NBA and end my career on a very high note. And then make the transition to the greatest business in the world, WWE. » Chance of fate, a reconversion of Dwight Howard would lead him to find Orlando, where the Performance Center (training center) of the WWEcity in which the American began his career in NBA : “ Coming back there would be huge because I would be starting a new career in Orlando, like I did with the Magic in basketball. »
Dwight Howard said he would like to play in the NBA next season but is ready to transition and join the WWE if that does not happen. His NBA career began in Orlando and he said he’s open to beginning his WWE career in Orlando where the WWE Performance Center is located. pic.twitter.com/VnT0bA1LCB
— Arash Markazi (@ArashMarkazi) July 28, 2022
Dennis Rodman, Shaquille O’Neal… Dwight Howard is not the first
In case of arrival at the WWE, Dwight Howard would not be the first basketball player to step into a ring. In recent years, several big stars of NBA have ventured into sports entertainment. In 1998, Dennis Rodman did not hesitate to miss a training session with the Chicago Bulls the day after the third match NBA Finals It front of Utah Jazz in order to appear in a show of the WCW next to Hulk hogan. This did not prevent the team from Michael Jordan to win 4 of the 6 games played in the series. More recently, Shaquille O’Neal made a notable appearance in a show of the All Elite Wrestling by participating in a match with other stars of the wrestling federation in 2020. Dwight Howard already knows who to ask for advice for his retraining.