Former Orlando Magic and Los Angeles Lakers big man Dwight Howard has quite a romantic history. He has five children with as many women, and he recently expressed regret not for having that many kids, but rather he thinks that the number of women he got pregnant doesn’t set a good example for his children.
“I don’t regret my kids,” Howard began regarding the children he has. “I regret how I decided to go about having my children. I have five kids by five women. And that’s really not a right example to show for my daughters nor my sons, you know? And it’s not sayin’ that havin’ kids is a bad thing. But havin’ kids by multiple women, sharing my body and my energy with multiple people, givin’ these women false senses of hope with a future and stuff like that, you know? So, doin’ some of the things that I shouldn’t have done at a young age, which I didn’t really know what I was doin’ — I was bein’ misguided. So now, as a older person, I wish I would do that better because it would save a lot of heartbreak, a lot of money, a lot of money, a lot of money, a lot of money, but really a lot of heartbreak. And not just heartbreak for the kids and the family but also the women, too.
“Even though they may have, may have not had agendas or whatever it may be. But I know still a part of them that would still hurt to have a child with someone and not be with them or whatever the case may be. So, I would say I do regret, not regret, but I would do that over, you know? At least have one woman and have all my kids with her so that way my kids will have a better example to see.”
Howard’s three sons are named Braylon, Dwight and David, while his two daughters go by Layla and Jayde. He welcomed all of those children to the world from a span starting from 2007 and ending in 2013. He was still one of the premier big men in the NBA during that time.
The former star big man was even in his halcyon days with the Magic during that early part of that stretch, as he won three consecutive Defensive Player of the Year awards with the team and led them to the NBA Finals in 2009.
The 39-year-old allegedly has went on vacation with all five of his children in the past. He rented out a house for a week in Aspen, Colo. back in 2017 to spend some quality time with them.
His oldest kid Braylon is 17 years old, and he had the child with Royce Reed, a former cheerleader for the Magic. He spends most of the time living with his mother.
Conversely, his youngest child David is 11, and after his mother passed away at the dawn of the decade in 2020, the former Defensive Player of the Year received primary custody of the youngster.
The eight time All-Star spent 18 seasons in the NBA in total, and after he spent the first eight seasons of his pro tenure in Orlando, he spent much of the rest of his career bouncing from team to team.
He ended up playing for a whopping seven teams including the Washington Wizards, Houston Rockets, Charlotte Hornets, Atlanta Hawks and Philadelphia 76ers along with the Magic and Lakers. His final season in the league came with the Lakers in the 2021-22 campaign.
While two-time block champ is unable to go back in time and change the fact that he got five women pregnant during his playing days, he seems to be trying to be the best possible influence for his kids. That in and of itself is commendable.
