Age 40! Howard Announces Signing! Officially Revokes Retirement Decision

Is his basketball addiction that strong? Or is he really that short on money?

The 40-year-old Howard has found a new job, announcing he will join the Georgian basketball club Tbilisi Black Fortress.

It's worth noting that this guy had already announced his retirement back in March...

As the No. 1 pick of the 2004 draft, Howard had an 18-year NBA career, with total salary earnings reportedly as high as $245 million. Since 2022, he has moved through multiple leagues, playing in Taiwan Province of China, Dubai, BIG3, and so on. As mentioned, now he's going to play in Europe, seemingly aiming to leave his mark on basketball courts around the world.

By the way, Howard once had a chance to play in the CBA, but due to his high asking price and unwillingness to play under the closed-bubble management system at the time, he ended up joining the Taoyuan Leopards of the T1 League in Taiwan Province of China. It is reported that his monthly salary exceeded $200,000, and during the 22-23 season he averaged 23.2 points, 16.2 rebounds, 5 assists, and 1.2 blocks per game.

Oh, and while playing for the Leopards, Howard was involved in several scandalous rumors. (manually dog head)

Back to business, despite his later years of decline, Howard has had a sufficiently glorious playing career. As a former NBA best center, he played for the Magic, Lakers, Rockets, Hawks, Hornets, Wizards, and 76ers. His stats are as follows:

Regular season averages: 15.7 points, 11.8 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 1.8 blocks, shooting 58.7% from the field; playoff averages: 15.3 points, 11.8 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 2 blocks, shooting 58.9% from the field.

As for Howard's personal honors, he has 1 championship, 3 Defensive Player of the Year awards, 8 All-NBA selections, 5 All-Defensive selections, 5 rebounding titles, 2 blocks titles, 8 All-Star appearances, and 1 Olympic gold medal, among others. Last year, he was successfully inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, but unfortunately was not named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team.

Howard not a 75th Anniversary Team member? Many people are still feeling indignant for him, because it is indeed quite baffling.