“Superman” Dwight Howard has returned to Taiwan at the invitation of the TPBL’s New Taipei Kings. In addition to serving as a guest commentator on the 13th, he is set to make an appearance in the slam dunk contest. However, in a pre-event interview, he laughingly noted that his advancing age makes performing flashy moves difficult; he jokingly remarked that he might need a “boost” from the beverage endorsed by Jeremy Lin to have any chance of recapturing his prime form.
The immensely popular Howard sparked a “Superman craze” across Taiwan when he joined the Taoyuan Leopards in 2022. He is famously remembered for winning the 2008 NBA Slam Dunk Contest while wearing a Superman cape. During his time in Taiwan, he also participated in the 2023 T1 League All-Star Game—not as a competitor, but as a judge. He did, however, take the court to let Tainan TSG GhostHawks high-flyer Liu Jun-ting leap over him, playing a key role in Liu securing a perfect score.