Dwight Howard Comes Out of Retirement at 40 to Play in Georgia

Dwight Howard isn't done yet. The American center, who announced his retirement from professional basketball last March, has changed his mind and will play starting in October for Black Fortress Tbilisi in Georgia.

The announcement, and the wordplay

He announced it himself in an Instagram video, playing with the name of his home state: he said he was heading to Georgia, but clarifying not to his native Atlanta but to Tbilisi. He explained that he saw Georgian flags in the comments on his previous post and decided that was his travel destination, adding that Superman is officially on his way, promising to light up the court starting in October.

In other words, according to his own account, he chose the club by reading fan comments on social media. Whether it's literal or part of the theatrics is debatable, but it fits with the way he's always communicated.

A globe-trotter since 2022

Howard hasn't played in the NBA since 2022. Since then he's been accumulating destinations: the Taoyuan Leopards in Taiwan, where he was a T1 League All-Star, the Puerto Rican league, the BIG3, and the Dubai league. This month he's participating in exhibition games in Asia before joining his new club.

His résumé, on the other hand, is of another dimension. First overall pick in the 2004 Draft by the Orlando Magic, eight-time All-Star, three-time Defensive Player of the Year, and NBA champion in 2020 with the Lakers. In eighteen seasons in the league he averaged 15.7 points and 11.8 rebounds, being for years the league's defensive and rebounding reference point. He'll turn 41 in December.

What is Black Fortress Tbilisi

The club is newly created and just won the Georgian second division championship, which gives it access to the top division starting in October.

The move is, obviously, more of an image operation than a sporting reinforcement. A newly promoted club in a minor Caucasus league doesn't sign an eight-time All-Star for performance: it signs him for visibility. And for Howard, at 40 years old with his career already closed at the highest level, it serves to keep playing and to keep his personal brand alive.

Curiously, Georgian basketball is on everyone's lips these days for another reason: their national team has been one of the revelations of the World Cup qualifying window, with victories over Montenegro and Portugal led by Toko Shengelia, Goga Bitadze, and Sandro Mamukelashvili.