At 41 years old, LeBron James signed a two-year contract with the Philadelphia 76ers to continue his NBA career. Meanwhile, his former Los Angeles Lakers teammate, who retired in March, is making a return to the hardwood. The comeback will not come with an NBA team, but it still marks a notable return for the 40-year-old champion.

The two-time Hall of Famer Dwight Howard will play professional basketball again. This time it won’t be in the States, but it will kick off his Euro career in Georgia.

“Georgia I’ll be on the way!…. Not my hometown ATL, Georgia but Tbilisi, Georgia! ❗️🇬🇪 ❗️I seen all your flags in the comments in my last post and decided that’s where we got to take the tour next ! Yes I really look at the comments and make my decision based on who really wants me to come out and bring energy to their country ! So Superman is officially on the way! Y’all thought the vibes were high before? Just wait till October when we light up the floor with BLACK FORTRESS! Let’s make some noise, Georgia! 🔥.”

Black Fortress is a second division of Georgian basketball and is not part of the Georgian Superliga, the top league in the country. More importantly, the Former Lakers star also revealed that his only European career would be his last time taking the court professionally.

“I’m coming here to spread the game of basketball, the game that I love,” Howard said in his Instagram video. “I cannot wait to start with the Black Fortress team, baby. Hey, we breaking everything down. Want to let y’all know this is the last time that y’all gonna see your boy on the court. But I will see you guys. You will see me for the last and first time on the court.”

Dwight Howard played his last NBA game in 2022 for the Purple and Gold franchise. Since then, he reportedly tried coming back, but a return never materialized. In March, Superman announced he would retire from hooping, which caught everyone by surprise.

“But now Im taking off the cape and retiring from all basketball to pour into my family and give back to communities worldwide. I know some of you might think I thought he already “retired” but I didn’t… the game retired me! I still had more left to give ! Yeah I did play professionally for 20 years and Im grateful to be able to say that but I can’t lie seeing these other players still going at it at age 40 inspired me to want to keep trying but now I believe my duty will be to pass it down to the next generation .”

Before his retirement, the eight-time All-Star would carve out a career overseas. The former champion first played in the Taiwan league for the Taoyuan Leopards.

Then, Dwight Howard was also part of Strong Group Athletics, a Philippine-based club team, which featured former NBA players such as Andray Blatche and Andre Roberson during the 33rd Dubai International Basketball Championship in January 2024.

Even though an NBA return did not pan out, the former Lakers star also played in BIG3 in the last three years. His recent stint in Ice Cube’s 3×3 league was also his first time since his last year’s Hall of Fame induction.

In June, the season opener for BIG3 led to Dwight Howard’s ejection. The three-time DPOY was involved in a brawl. It began with an exchange of words with another former NBA star, Michael Beasley. That led him to hold his forearm against Beasley’s face. Both of them were ejected.

So, now Dwight Howard will once again make his return on the hardwood, but this time it will be his last. Let’s not forget the former Lakers star already competed in the NBA for 18 seasons, won a championship and is now a two-time Hall of Famer. One for his stellar individual career and one for his contribution to the Redeem Team at the 2008 Olympics.