Last Week, Dwight Howard Announced His Retirement. Former Teammate Danny Green Says 'He's Very Well Deserving Of All The Flowers'

Three-Time NBA Champion Danny Green was here in Manila last weekend to interact with Filipino fans at NBA Store Philippines and do some local partner engagements. It was his second visit since 2015. Coincidentally, on Green's first day in the country, his former teammate Dwight Howard announced his retirement via his official X (formerly Twitter) account.

"But now Im taking off the cape and retiring from all basketball to pour into my family and give back to communities worldwide," Dwight Howard wrote on X, formerly Twitter. "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."

"So Thank you to all my fans and supporters throughout this journey I love and appreciate yall dearly because without yall it would be no me," he added.

Surrounded by local media at the NBA Store Philippines on Friday, March 13, Danny Green was asked about Dwight Howard's retirement. Green had nothing but good words for his former teammate.

"He's an amazing teammate. He's an amazing player; he did some unbelievable things as Superman when he was in Orlando. Even after that, even had back problems, and he was a huge intricate piece to us winning a championship in LA," Green shared. " Coming off the bench in guarding guys like [Nikola] Jokic and other big men, being a force and bringing in that intensity. So, he's very well deserving of all the flowers, just again, also a great locker room guy, had the best outlook on life, had a positive energy."

"And the fact that he's doing a D12 day for every month and every 12th of the month, just shows you what kind of person he is. He always loves to try to get back and do something special for other people."

For Danny Green, A 4-Point Line In The NBA 'Might Make The Game A Little More Messy'

The Philippine Basketball Association, or PBA, is the first professional basketball league in Asia. The local pro hoops league is celebrating its 50th anniversary, and the Commissioner's Cup, its second conference reinforced by imports, is already underway. During the 2024 PBA Governors' Cup, the league introduced the 4-point line to draw more fans to watch the games.

In his second visit to Manila since 2015, three-time NBA champion Danny Green, wasn't keen on having a 4-point line in the NBA but is open to the idea outside the league.

"We talked about it. I don't think it's good for the game of basketball. I mean, we get enough, [the] 3-point line is already enough, and we get enough, an abundance of attempts of those, I think a 4-point line might make the game a little bit more messy," Green, known for his perimeter defense and 3-point shooting, said during his media availability with local journalists at NBA Store Philippines, on Friday, March 13. "But interesting, it could be fun for certain things like the Big 3, certain tournaments or even Olympics. But an NBA game, I don't know."