Dwight Howard shares very rare snaps of youngest son David to mark his special day
Dwight Howard celebrated the 11th birthday of his youngest son, David, on Saturday. Howard marked the occasion by sharing rare pictures of David, who was born in 2013 to him and Melissa Rios, who died in 2020. The one-time NBA champ has taken care of him since Rios' unfortunate death.
In an Instagram post, Howard greeted David with a 'happy birthday' message and shared pictures of him from over the years. One of the images was David celebrating the 2020 NBA Championship with his father on the court, inside the bubble in Orlando, Florida.
"Everyone wish a Happy Birthday to my youngest David," Howard wrote.
According to People magazine, Dwight Howard welcomed David on Dec. 14, 2013. David's mother, Melissa Rios, was Howard's girlfriend at the time. They eventually broke up, with David spending more time with his mother due to the NBA legend's busy schedule.
However, David had to move in with his father in 2020 when Rios died following an epileptic seizure. The father and son have a close bond, with the former LA Lakers big man accompanying him to events such as the premier of "Spider-Man: No Way Home" in late 2021.
In addition to David, Howard has four children with four different women. His firstborn, named Braylon, currently plays high school football. His mother is former Orlando Magic cheerleader Royce Reed, who made headlines last year for some claims against Howard.
Howard welcomed his next two children in 2010, Layla and Jayde. Layla's mother is Tiffany Render, while Jayde was born to fitness model Hope Alexa. Three years after his daughters were born, the three-time Defensive Player of the Year had a son with Christine Vest, named Dwight III.
Dwight Howard opened up about David's mother's death
In an interview with ESPN a few months after Melissa Rios' death, Dwight Howard got candid about how he dealt with the loss. He had to explain to David what happened, which was a hard thing to do, especially with the COVID-19 pandemic at its early stage.
"I've had some things happen in my personal life that has been difficult to really handle," Howard said. "My son's mom, she had passed away a month and a half ago and it's extremely difficult for me to try to understand how to talk to my son, who's six years old, just about the whole situation."
According to Unicourt, Rios' mother Edelmira sued Dwight Howard in July 2020 to get visitation rights to her grandson. The case is still pending, but there have been no updates since September 2021.
The Blast reported that Edelmira and her grandson filed a wrongful death lawsuit in February 2022 against ASN Calabasas, who were the developers of Melissa's apartment where she passed away.