Los Angeles Lakers assistant coach Phil Handy had a hand in Dwight Howard signing up with Strong Group Athletics Philippines for a 2-week tournament in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Strong Group Athletics Philippines coach Charles Tiu consulted Handy before signing up the 38-year-old Howard.

Howard and Handy won a championship together with the Lakers in 2020.

But it was former NBA player and Philippine national team naturalized player, Andray Blatche, who served as the bridge between the Philippine-based ballclub and Howard.

“I asked Andray Blatche to help connect me to Dwight,” Tiu told Heavy Sports. “We spoke on the phone for a couple of hours and decided it was a good fit and wanted to make it work. I called up Lakers (assistant) coach Phil Handy to ask for some advice and check on Dwight and decided it could work out. I’m grateful that Dwight will suit up for us and to our owners Frank and Jacob Lao for making this possible.”

Shams Charania of The Athletic first reported the news of Howard’s signing with Strong Group Athletics Philippines.

Howard will use the tournament to stay in shape for another NBA shot. He last played in the NBA with the Lakers during the 2021-22 season.

The eight-time NBA All-Star will become an instant fan favorite among Filipinos, who are predominantly Lakers fans.

Ex-Lakers Big Man Expected to Dominate
Howard will banner Strong Group Athletics Philippines’ title bid in the Dubai International Basketball Championship which will run from January 19 to 28.

Last year, Tiu’s team led by former NBA players Renaldo Balkman and Shabazz Mohammad lost in the quarterfinal round.

With the 6-foot-10 Howard, the Strong Group Athletics Philippines’ hopes are high that they will surpass last year’s performance.

“I expect him to do what he does best — dominate defensively and rebound well, plus in Taiwan, we saw a lot more of his offensive game,” Tiu told Heavy Sports, “so we are hoping he will also be able to give us some inside presence offensively.”

Howard spent last season in Taiwan’s T1 League where he won Most Valuable Import while leading the league in rebounds. He was also named the All-Star Game MVP and was selected to the All-Defensive Team and All-T1 League First Team.

Failed NBA Comeback Attempt
Howard worked out in Golden State before the NBA training camp but the Warriors went another direction.

“We’ve got five guys that can play center in training camp,” Golden State manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. said in September. “To me, it’s a position that you can’t play multiple of them. So, I want to make sure everybody gets enough reps, and I think that’s been our discussion with the coaching staff as well, and I think that’s the path we’ll head down from there again.”

Howard used his Taiwan stint to expand his game. In 20 games, he shot 16-of-70 3-pointers in his attempt to show he can adapt as a floor-spacing big man in today’s NBA. But it was not enough to convince the Warriors to give him a shot.