Did I see it right?
Dwight Howard wants to play in the PBA?
But he's not qualified because of the height limit?
Then "qualify" him!
The video came from Sports Beat PH's YouTube channel.
With a visually unfavorable audience, a questionable broadcast carrier, and super-imbalanced team rosters, the PBA can use these ex-NBA studs to make the fans happy. It's funny how The Strong Group can get the top players and the PBA teams can't. Aside from Howard, the team has naturalized Filipino Andray Blatche, former OKC forward Andre Roberson, and former TNT import McKenzie Moore in the 2024 Dubai International Basketball Tournament roster. The team also has Terrafirma draft pick Jordan Heading as well as DLSU monster Kevin Quiambao. A year ago, Charles Tiu mentored the team that had Fil-Am Sedrick Barefield, current KBL player Migs Oczon, NCAA MVP Will Gozum, MPBL MVP Justine Baltazar, and former NBA players Nick Young and Shabazz Muhammad. Over the years, this team, which was called Mighty Sports a few years back, had a smorgasbord of top-tier talents ranging from imports like Justin Brownlee, Renaldo Balkman, Jason Brickman, Mikey Williams, Matthew Wright, Al Thornton, Jamie Malonzo, Roosevelt Adams, Hasheem Thabeet, Lamar Odom, and our beloved Kuya Marcus Douthit.
Can you imagine if the PBA was able to enlist Howard, Jeremy Lin, Kemba Walker, Serge Ibaka, Jabari Parker, the Hernangomez Brothers, and a bunch of semi-pro stars?
What about Carmelo Anthony or Derrick Rose???
The PBA needs competition as well as asses into seats! Currently, they have neither, except when the SMC teams are playing. The fans don't get the 2000s squads. When was the last time Rain or Shine played in a Finals series?
When Dwight Howard said that his Strong Group could beat the Detroit Pistons, can the PBA Moto Club say that they can upend the Blackwater Bossing? Yeah, the PBA Moto Club is composed of retired PBA stars and active MPBL players, but these players can definitely put fans in arenas.
I still think the PBA needs to overhaul the league to make it fresh - like re-assigning half of the roster to create balance and possibly giving the commercial teams a city-based backing like what the MPBL is doing. With that said, a guy like Dwight Howard can give a team like Phoenix, Blackwater, Northport, Terrafirma, Converge, and even Rain or Shine a fighting chance not just for a championship, but if the player is that uninspired, at least a couple of games in which fans with cellphones, collectible cards, and confidence to troop to a random venue to make their games a min-fan meet.
I am also looking for a way for him to sign my rookie card.
Hehe.
During the '90s, fans go nuts with larger-than-life imports. Aside from the triumvirate of Norman Black, Bobby Parks, and Sean Chambers, there were others like Tony Harris, Kenny Redfield, Lamont Strothers, John Best, and even in the early 2000s like Jerald Honeycutt, Derrick "Flight" Brown, Ansu Sesay, Tee McClary, Silas Mills, Larry Robinson, Chris King, and some others whose names have escaped me. While some of the names I have mentioned aren't draws as I have stated, there is a noticeable crowd whenever they play.
Apart from Brownlee, maybe we had something with Allen Durham and Romeo Travis as his contemporaries, but the main guy that sent fear to the Ginebra crowd is Bay Area Dragon Andrew Nicholson and TNT import Rondae Hollis-Jefferson.
So yeah, if we can see one Dwight Howard story mentioning his PBA team or the PBA team that he hates the most, then it's going to be a popularity boost.
Make the next conference a no-height limit conference, and give the KBL and Japan B-League players a special clause in which they can use their offseason to the teams that hold their rights.
MAKE THE PBA INTERESTING AGAIN!!!