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Former NBA star Dwight Howard demanded Ronnie 2K, the face of NBA 2K, to amp up his 3-point ratings after calling out rating inaccuracy from his NBA heydays. Sharing a video of his player progression over the years in the game, Howard posted on X that his in-game characters don't resemble him and pointed out the inaccuracy by mentioning his ratings in 2K9 and 2K13.
"Man don’t none of those look like me and they had me at a 93 in 09 and a 96 in 2013 that’s how you know these ratings ain’t accurate 😂," Howard wrote on Thursday.
After Ronnie 2K replied to his post with an apology, Howard proceeded to jokingly demand an amp-up to his 3-point ratings by referring to his time playing in the Taiwan T-1 League in 2022-23.
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"Sorry Dwight I am trying," Ronnie replied.
"Aye Put Taiwan Dwight in there and put my 3point ratings up 😂🔥," Dwight Howard wrote back.
In the 2012-13 regular season, Dwight Howard averaged 17.1 points, 12.4 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 2.4 blocks and 1.1 steals while shooting 57.8% from the field for the LA Lakers. With him on their roster, the Lakers were swept in the first round of the NBA playoffs.
Meanwhile, he averaged 20.6 points, 13.8 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 2.9 blocks and 1.0 steals for the Orlando Magic in the 2008-09 season while shooting 59.4% from the field. Howard made it to the All-NBA First Team, was named Defensive Player of the Year, and also led the Magic to the NBA Finals in the 2008-09 season as they lost to the Lakers in the championship series.
Dwight Howard opens up about decision to play in Taiwan
Featuring on the "Above the Rim with DH 12" podcast in the first week of August, Dwight Howard discussed his mindset as he decided to play in Taiwan for the 2022-23 season. The big man shared that while he felt that he should have been in the NBA, he could not stop playing after being left out of the league.
"I was depressed like hell," Howard said. "I know I'm supposed to be playing in the NBA. I know I do. But I can't sit up there and let this stop me from being who I am. Coming over here, these people gave me wings. I never take these people for granted because they gave me the opportunity to come just hoop. And the people here showed me so much love."
Watch at the 1:16:20 mark here:
The former NBA champion ended up outside the NBA after he went through the summer without picking up on a team ahead of both the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons. However, he took his talents to the Taiwanese T1 League in 2022, signing with the Taoyuan Leopards to continue his career as a professional basketball player.
In his debut season in the league, Dwight Howard averaged 23.2 points, 16.2 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 1.2 blocks while shooting 50.0% from the field, including 22.9% from deep. He earned various accolades in his debut season, including being named the T1 League Most Valuable Import and selected to the All-T1 League First Team and T1 League All-Defensive First Team. He was also selected as an All-Star and won the All-Star Game MVP award.
