Six pairs were eliminated and six more still stand in the way of Dwight Howard. The DWTS journey has already had its ups and downs with the Lakers star. He has received the highest of praise and even some blunt responses from the judges. Yet, the former NBA champion is still in the race because he wanted to show his children anything was possible.

Recently, he even spoke about his performance during the season and the challenges of being a non-dancer. “That’s the hardest part because for me, when I hear a song, I already got that rhythm in my head. I’m like, oh, yeah.” Dwight Howard spoke to Gilbert Arenas and his crew about his week 5 performance. “But then that’s not the same rhythm. That’s not the same steps. So if the song is real slow, like the other week, I performed my song for my kids that I made.”

It was during the Dedication Night that the 8x All-Star performed Rumba to ‘Shoot for the Stars.’ He dedicated the performance to his five kids and reminded them once again to never settle. But Dwight Howard and Daniella Karagach scored the least amount of points from the judges, 29/40. That is why he highlighted the issue he had been facing in dancing to slow songs.

“The song is a slow song. So if I’m actually dancing to it, I’m dancing slow and I’m doing this. But the steps is fast as hell,” DH12 said on the Gil’s Arena. On another podcast, he admitted his week 3 mistake, which even judges failed to notice. “I decided to improvise during the dance.” It was right at the end of the performance, where 3x DPOY was supposed to perform a back-and-forth routine with Karagach but ended up spinning away.

While speaking to the host of the podcast Joe Vulpis, Dwight Howard admitted that his misstep created a little confusion for the camera and the production crew. Even though the judges did not notice that slip, the performance had its flaws, and that’s why they scored him 23 out of 40. That was the second lowest on the night, but due to fans’ support, the former champion is continuing his journey.

Dwight Howard survives another week on DWTS

After scoring the lowest points in week 5, Dwight Howard and Daniella Karagach had another challenge. It was Disney Night, and the couples had to perform twice, a group dance and also the regular couple dance. For the group dance, Danny Amendola and Witney Carson, Stephen Nedoroscik and Rylee Arnold, and Phaedra Parks and Val Chmerkovskiy, performed with Howard and Karagach on ‘I Just Can’t Wait to Be King’ from ‘The Lion King’.

Despite the camaraderie, judges noticed that all the pairs had the timing off during the celebrity portion of the routine. That’s why the ‘Team Roar’ got three straight eights for the team’s total of 24. Their opponent ‘Team Goofs’ scored 27 and had the edge. Still, low scores did not change anything for the 2x Block Champion and his partner.

They performed a Tango to ‘When Can I See You Again?‘ from ‘Wreck It Ralph‘. Judge Carrie Ann, who has been one of the toughest critics said “made several mistakes.” However, she also agreed that the performance deserved to be celebrated. Similarly, Derek Hough and Bruno Tonioli appreciated the routine, and Tonioli even said that Dwight Howard has improved from his week 1 performance. The judges still gave him three eights, but the fans’ votes saved him. Thus, the former champion will continue on his journey, despite the ‘hard’ adjustments.