Former NBA star Dwight Howard was sensationally ejected as a T-1 league game in Taiwan descended into chaos as both teams clashed on the court.
Howard’s Taoyuan Leopards faced the Taiwan Beer HeroBears in a tense contest when anarchy reigned. Chen Hsiao-Jung attempted to evade and get separation from HeroBears guard Chian Yu-an, who was defending his opponent tightly when the Leopards star elbowed him in the face.
The incident immediately sparked a wild on-court fracas with both teams going at each other. Punches were thrown as the benches emptied, and an assistant coach even attempted to strike Hsiao-Jung several times before the referees ultimately restrained him.
The clash - which started near midcourt - spilled over to the other side of the court, and several figures ended up on the ground as more punches were thrown on the sideline. Howard was attempting to play peacemaker and wasn’t captured fighting on camera, but he was still ejected.
In the end, Howard and 11 other players were ejected but his Leopards clung on to come away with a 120-108 win. It means the Leopards have a 4-11 record as they sit bottom of the T-1 league.
Howard has a number of NBA records, playing for a host of teams including the Orlando Magic, Houston Rockets, Atlanta Hawks, Charlotte Hornets, Washington Wizards, Philadelphia 76ers and Lakers. He was selected first overall by the Magic in the 2004 NBA Draft, and he was a three-time Defensive Player of the Year while with the Florida franchise.
Howard spent 18 seasons in the NBA and has career averages of 15.7 points, 11.8 rebounds and 1.8 blocks. He was also selected for the All-NBA First Team in five years straight from 2008-2012 and had performed as well as any defensive big men in the league's history during his time with the Magic, leading the franchise to the 2009 NBA Finals where they fell to Kobe Bryant’s Los Angeles Lakers.
In the 2008/09 NBA season, Howard was the lone All-Star on the Magic roster which had playoff wins over a Boston Celtics roster comprising of future Hall of Famers Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen. They also defeated LeBron James' Cleveland Cavaliers, with Howard averaging 21 points, 14 rebounds and three blocks per game in the season - with many clamouring for him to win the MVP.
Howard left the Magic in 2012 to join the Lakers alongside Bryant in what was a disappointing season before going on to partner James Harden at the Rockets. He remained a rebound-snatching center and won the NBA championship during a second spell with the Lakers in 2019/20.
