Dwight Howard recently opened up about a betrayal that cost him $7 million and derailed his dream of owning a WNBA team. During an episode of his talk show 'Above the Rim With DH12' , the former NBA star revealed that his former agent had stolen millions, destroying his plan to purchase the Atlanta Dream.
(Cleaned up for better understanding):
"$7 million, it was a part of agent. What was my mental? My mental was I wanted to find him and beat the h*ll out of him. Like, I wanted to kill him. My plan that I had was, I was looking to buy the Atlanta Dream."
"The basketball team for women. And so I was like, man, I wanna really do this cause I got two daughters. One day they’re gonna wanna play basketball. I can set it up to where they can play for the Atlanta Dream one day when they get older."
"So we put this little group together, and at the time, the NBA—because I was still playing—said that I couldn’t own the team outright myself. I was like, 'Okay, I can have a group and be the face of the team for now, and then I could be behind the scenes making all the decisions and stuff like that.'"
"I had talked to the GM, I had talked to the owners of the team. I really thought this was going to be my team. So I gave the group the money, and the next thing I know, I didn’t hear from the people anymore. They started disappearing."
"Then I looked online, and it was breaking news. They said that some other people had bought the Atlanta Dream. I had even called my mom before that and told her, 'Mom, I’m going to send you a whole bunch of Dream stuff. We own the Dream!'"
"I was happy because my mom had season tickets, and I was going to make sure she went to all the games. But they took the money, and I hardly ever heard from them again. The conversations with my agent became less and less."
"He kept saying, 'Man, they won’t call me back now. I can’t get in contact with them.' I was like, 'Man, you’re lying. What’s going on?'"
"I really trusted this agent because he was my agent, so he had a duty to tell the truth and be honest with me. But these agents, these lawyers, all these people—they be scheming, they be lying, and they all have the same motive: to take from you. So it's like you really can't trust anybody." (1:26:18)
Howard shared that he wanted to own the Atlanta Dream, particularly because of his two daughters. His vision was to one day have them play for the team. He had worked with a group of investors to make the purchase while he was still an NBA player. Howard couldn’t officially own a team during his playing career, so he decided to play a behind-the-scenes role. The deal was moving forward until his agent and other associates vanished with the money, and the Dream was sold to different buyers.
In March 2023, Howard’s former agent, Charles Briscoe, was arrested on felony charges, including wire fraud and identity theft. Briscoe allegedly used the $7 million for personal purchases and has been facing legal consequences that could result in up to 40 years in prison.
Howard, with a net worth of approximately $140 million in 2024, amassed significant wealth throughout his illustrious NBA career. Over the course of his 18 seasons, Howard earned a staggering $245.1 million in salary alone, not accounting for endorsements and other ventures.
Despite the setback, Dwight Howard hasn’t abandoned his entrepreneurial aspirations. In 2024, he became a part-owner of a Taiwanese basketball league and the Taiwan Mustangs team. This marked the first time a player owned a stake in the league they were actively involved in. While the experience with the Dream was a major disappointment, Howard has found new avenues for ownership and investment, keeping his dreams alive.
Joe Smith Got Scammed For $109,000
On the 'Above the Rim With DH12' podcast, former NBA player Joe Smith opened up about a financial scam he fell victim to, revealing that he was swindled out of $109,000. Smith shared his experience, which occurred shortly after he retired and went through his first divorce.
"I went through a situation in L.A. right after I retired. I went through my first divorce with my first wife. I met a young lady out in L.A., and we were kicking it for a minute."
"Then, I got a call from my financial advisor asking me when I started writing all these checks, because I’m not a check writer, you know what I’m saying? I use my cards or cash. So she was like, 'When did you start writing all these checks?"
"I’ve never known you to be a check writer.' I said, 'What checks? I don’t write checks.' She said, 'We just received 12 checks that you wrote.' I was like, '12? And the total came to around $109,000, all broken up."
"This happened after I retired, after my divorce, when I had just given my ex-wife everything. This was what I was living on now." (1:24:49)
This financial hit was especially painful, as it came during a vulnerable time for Smith, following his retirement and divorce. He had already given his ex-wife much of his savings, and the stolen money represented what he was living on at the time.
Smith’s story highlights the financial challenges many athletes face after retiring and how vulnerable they can be to scams during transitions in their personal lives.
Related: Joe Smith On How He Ended Up Broke With $157K Debt After Making $61 Million During His NBA Career
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