Former NBA star Dwight Howard says Ric Flair talked him out of wrestling career
Dwight Howard may have become a professional wrestler if it wasn’t for Ric Flair.
Howard took part in a WWE tryout in Nashville over SummerSlam weekend in 2022. Triple H would later say “The ball is in his court” regarding whether he would end up with the company.
Howard told TMZ recently that Flair talked him out of a post-NBA career in WWE.
“I was talking to Ric Flair,” Howard said. “He said I don’t know if my knees is good for wrestling.”
Howard dealt with knee injuries throughout his 18-season NBA career.
“My knees feel good, it’s just wrestling,” he continued. “You’re talking about picking up 300-pound dudes and all that stuff. Nobody wants to do that for their whole life!”
It doesn’t look like a wrestling career is in the cards for the 38-year-old, who signed a contract with the Taiwan Mustangs of The Asian Tournament (TAT) earlier this year. He also told TMZ he is interested in getting into stand-up comedy.
Ian Carey is a writer from Toronto, Ontario, Canada, whose work has appeared in award-winning publications such as NOW Magazine and The Huffington Post. He joined the F4WOnline team in 2019 and was named managing editor in the summer of 2026. Born in Calgary, Alberta, Ian has covered professional wrestling for more than 15 years.