Photo: Phoenix Suns/Twitter

Dwight Howard, the 37-year-old former NBA All-Star center, is at the center of a social media storm after trolling Phoenix Suns point guard Chris Paul on Instagram following the Suns’ elimination from the playoffs.

The Suns were eliminated by the Denver Nuggets in six games in the 2023 Western Conference Semifinals, and Chris Paul missed the final four games due to injury. Howard, who now plays for the Taoyuan Leopards in Taiwan, shared a post on Instagram that included a supposed quote from Paul that read: “If I don’t win the ring with KD, I’m going to Taiwan with Dwight Howard.”

The post was originally shared by wftsportsnews and caught the attention of NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal, who also shared it on Instagram. Howard then added his own comment to the post, tagging Chris Paul and writing, “Aye @cp3 what we doing 👀. Just joking /recruiting 😂🤷🏾‍♂️”.

Howard’s move to the Taoyuan Leopards was also the subject of ridicule when he signed with the team in November 2022 after not getting a contract in the NBA