Dwight Howard Pursues Business Degree In His Next Chapter

The NBA champion is among a rising group of Black athletes pursuing higher education to broaden their influence in the corporate arena beyond sports.

A New Playbook for Off-Court Growth

Dwight Howard, the No. 1 overall pick in 2004 after graduating from Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy, has spent nearly two decades carving out a Hall of Fame basketball career. After winning an NBA championship in 2020 with the L.A. Lakers, earning three Defensive Player of the Year awards, and building a successful investment portfolio, the 40-year-old center is now pursuing a business degree. Howard announced this while continuing his international playing career, noting that executive skills are essential for athletes’ long-term success.

Howard admitted that it has been a big adjustment to move from the basketball court to the virtual classroom. “This is the most crazy thing in the world, man, to go to school,” he said in a post on Instagram. “I didn’t do it since I was 18 and now that I’m 40 I’m sitting down at the computer doing maths.” He highlighted the fact that although his early career had given him an informal “degree in basketball,” gaining knowledge in corporate strategy, financial management and entrepreneurship does require formal academic study.

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Following a Blueprint of Athlete-Entrepreneurs

Howard’s pursuit of higher education is part of a wider trend in which African American athletes return to school to build their business careers. He pointed to Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal, who earned bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees, as an example of how education can broaden an athlete’s corporate prospects. Howard also mentioned former NBA guard J.R. Smith as an inspiration; Smith enrolled at North Carolina A&T State University in 2021 and received a bachelor’s degree in liberal studies, BLACK ENTERPRISE previously reported.

Just as Stephen Curry, a four-time NBA champion, obtained his bachelor’s degree in sociology from Davidson College 13 years after joining the league, these examples demonstrate that earning a degree is now seen as a strategic means of securing equity, gaining access to venture capital, and achieving wealth in the global market, and not merely as a last-resort option.

Fostering Educational and Financial Success

Howard’s return to the classroom aligns with positive developments in college athletics. The NCAA Graduation Success Rate Report shows that the overall graduation rate for Division I institutions has reached a record high of 91%. The graduation rate for Black male basketball players has risen from 46% in 2002 to 84% in recent years.

These gains highlight a cultural shift as athletes recognize that sports careers are brief while business education offers long-term impact. As Basketball Network reported, Howard emphasized that today’s players are increasingly focused on building economic literacy alongside athletic skills.