WWE held a series of tryouts in Nashville ahead of WWE SummerSlam this weekend, and the participants included some familia faces. Among the hopeful sports-entertainers was 10-time NBA All-Star Dwight Howard, who impressed with his natural promo skills. While Howard stressed that his focus is on basketball right now, he is very serious about eventually stepping in the squared circle for real.
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“I remember having a conversation with my teammates last year in LA,” Howard told media at the tryout. “They asked me if I wasn’t playing basketball, what would I do? I said I’d love to be a wrestler. LeBron was like, ‘Man, you look like you’d be a wrestler.’ I was really thinking about it, and here we are.”
Athletes from the four major American sports transitioning to professional wrestling is nothing new. Top WWE stars like Roman Reigns and Happy Corbin have collegiate backgrounds in football, while notable NFL stars like Rob Gronkowski and Pat McAfee have made sporadic in-ring appearances.
While it’s rarer to see basketball stars lock up, NBA players have a long history of admiring professional wrestling. Two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo has attended both AEW and WWE shows in the past, and has even been seen sparring with his teammates before games.
If Howard does end up in the WWE, he sees a couple of his fellow NBA stars as natural fits to join him, including one of his current teammates.
“I think that a lot of the big guys [would be good],” Howard said. “DeMarcus Cousins, he’ll be good for wrestling. For something like this, he has a lot of character. He’s very strong, animated, stuff like that. I think he’d be good out here. Obviously, LeBron, he’ll be funny out here with wrestling and stuff like that, but this is my element. Acting, being in front of the camera, smiling, trying to put on a show and entertain. This is what I love.”
Dwight Howard is entering his fourth season with the Los Angeles Lakers, but only the first time he’s played in consecutive years with the west coast team. Howard had one-off stints with the Lake Show during the 2012-13 and 2019-2020 seasons.
WWE SummerSlam goes down Saturday, July 30th. Stay tuned to ComicBook.com for live coverage and exclusive interviews throughout the weekend.
