Dwight Howard working on ‘big relief efforts’ in earthquake-hit Taiwan

Former Los Angeles Lakers center Dwight Howard is working on “big relief efforts” for Taiwan after it was hit by a massive 7.4 magnitude earthquake earlier this month.

Since the earthquake, which was the strongest in the past 25 years in Taiwan, there have been several aftershocks, including a cluster of earthquakes on Monday, with the largest reaching a magnitude of 6.1, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

According to the Associated Press, there weren’t any casualties caused from Tuesday’s aftershocks. However, the original earthquake ended up killing 13 people and injuring over 1,000.

Howard, who spent the 2022-23 season with the Taoyuan Leopards of the T1 League in Taiwan, is looking to help a community that accepted him as a player in the latter stages of his basketball career.

“All my people in Taiwan who have just been affected by the earthquake, I just want to send you guys a message, let you know that I pray that everything is OK,” Howard said. “I know a lot of people are still shooken up by just being in the earthquake. It is a very scary experience, and I know this has been a very difficult time.

“I just want to give my thoughts and my prayers to all the families in Taiwan that were affected, and I just thank God that it wasn’t as bad as the Richter scale was.”

Howard, who won a title with the Lakers in the 2019-20 season, shared that he wants to come back to Taiwan as well.

“I gotta come back,” Howard said. “I would love to come back to Taiwan very soon to help the relief project for all the fans there.”

Howard shared that he wants to bring smiles back to the fans and people of Taiwan and help to shift their focus away from the earthquake and the destruction that it has caused.

It’s great to see the NBA legend looking to give back, and hopefully he can help the community in Taiwan heal after such a horrible event.

An eight-time All-Star, Howard won three Defensive Player of the Year Awards in his NBA career and was selected to an All-Defensive team five times. He also led the NBA in blocks per game in the 2008-09 season and the 2009-10 campaign.

He has not played in the NBA since the 2021-22 season when he was with the Lakers for his third stint with the franchise.

During that season, Howard averaged 6.2 points, 5.9 rebounds and 0.6 blocks in 16.2 minutes per game. He played in 60 games for the Lakers and made 27 starts.