Dwight Howard Dabbed On Jeremy Lin After Stiffing Him On A High Five

Dwight Howard boasts an odd personality. The former All-Star big man found refuge with the Atlanta Hawks during the off-season after noisy exits from the Orlando Magic, Los Angeles Lakers and Houston Rockets. Referring to him as divisive is probably the best description when discussing his reputation in the NBA world. With that said, Howard is enjoying something of a renaissance in Atlanta, where his play has impressed as the Hawks teeter between competing for playoff positioning and a potential rebuild.

On Tuesday evening, though, Howard encountered Jeremy Lin, in a suit on the bench for the Brooklyn Nets, during the second quarter of a contest between the two teams. Inexplicably, Howard chose to “dab” on Lin after the injured guard extended his hand in a friendly gesture. It should be noted that both players seemed to chuckle immediately after the unusual encounter, including the trademark comedic face of Howard as he slinked away from the bench. For additional background, Howard and Lin were teammates in Houston during the 2013-2014 season, providing the backdrop for what was likely a harmless bit of ribbing.

This appears to be purely in good fun, but it can also be described as bizarre given the fact that Howard almost certainly knew it would be caught on camera. The Hawks were predictably taking care of the Nets, even in Brooklyn, at the time in the second quarter in which the interaction occurred, but it almost doesn’t matter. Dwight Howard can’t “get away” with this quite as easily as some other players in the NBA, but it was probably just funny. Or at least an attempt at being so.

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