"Guess I’m playing for the Philippines" - Dwight Howard pokes fun on not scoring spot on Team USA Olympic squad
Dwight Howard had previously expressed his desire to play for Team USA in the 2024 Summer Olympics. However, when Team USA recently announced the finalists for the 2024 Olympics Men’s National Team, Howard’s dreams were shattered. He was not included in the 41-pl;ayer pool for the Olympics.
Team USA selected 41 players, including superstar players like LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Steph Curry and Kawhi Leonard. The team will soon be finalizing a 12-man roster that will be sent to Paris.
Howard, who is currently out of the NBA, while playing in the Dubai International Basketball Championship had a hilarious reaction to the post by theScore on X/Twitter. He wrote:
“Guess I’m playing for the Philippines.”
This is not the first time Howard has threatened Team USA if they leave him out of the Olympics roster. When he was playing for the Taoyuan Leopards team in Taiwan, he said he would play for Taiwan and drop 85 points on the US Team.
There is a high chance that Team USA for the Olympics will be star-studded. Several superstars had previously shown interest in playing for the national team.
Dwight Howard had previously threatened to play for Taiwan
Before Dwight Howard said that he might play for the Philippines, he previously joked that he was going to play for Taiwan. In September 2023, when Howard was playing in Taiwan, he posted a video of him along with the potential US Team for the Olympics.
The reports of LeBron James recruiting players for Team USA had gotten out in the media and Howard wanted to put himself up for consideration. Howard, who was part of the 2008 Olympic Team and won a gold medal, wanted to ensure recruiters and LeBron did not leave him out of the squad:
“I like what I see but don’t leave ya boy out ... if ya leave me out I’m playing with Taiwan, and I’m dropping 85 #nba #basketball #legends”
The NBA has seen the emergence of young players in the league like Joel Embiid, Tyrese Haliburton and Jayson Tatum. Moreover, they already have superstar-level veteran players like LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry.
It is perhaps difficult to put Howard in the tight slot. The former Defensive Player of the Year hasn’t been playing in the NBA of late and the last time he played, he didn’t look like prime Dwight Howard.
Team USA finished fourth in the 2023 FIBA World Cup. Though it was far more improved from seventh place in 2019, this is not what the world No. 1 team expects from themselves. Recently, US dominance in basketball has been challenged and perhaps they are sending in their superstars to make a statement.