After a successful collection of $80,509,622 on a $30 million estimated budget, the movie is bound to return for a sequel. After a 7 year gap, the high-octane crime saga will be back with a squeal on the big screens. The promotion tour’s next stop was in Atlanta, and who better to hype the movie than Atlanta’s own Dwight Howard? The moment got more special for the onetime NBA champion as his “favorite” actor praised him for his role.

“Energy tonight was incredible- big love to ATL! Shoutout to @DwightHoward for introducing #DenOfThieves2 at tonight’s screening and giving me my favorite intro ever! Lots of love for this city and the amazing energy.” Gerard Butler’s latest movie with O’Shea Jackson Jr. will hit the theaters next month. During the screening in Atlanta, the 3x DPOY introduction mightily impressed him. DH-12 even left a comment on the reel, “Favorite Actor 🙏🏾🔥.” So what was the introduction that swept the $80 million star off his feet?

“Last, but not least, he has been my favorite actor. Y’all saw him in 300. I saw him in real life and said ‘You ain’t got no abs.‘” Dwight Howard’s voice was not entirely clear during the introduction, but it was clear he had some jokes about his sleeve. Even the crowd was erupting with joy. The former Center had an effect on the crowd that even Butler took notice of. Although the former Lakers star did poke at Butler’s look in the movie 300, directed by Zack Snyder, the Scottish actor did put in a major shift for that role.

“In some ways, I was ruining my body, but I was looking amazing doing it,” Butler told The Hollywood Reporter in 2021. He tried everything from CrossFit training to bodybuilding and worked out 6 hours a day for the role. Even for his recent role in Den Of Thieves 2, director Christian Gudegast praised the actor’s behind-the-scenes methods. “He really puts it on himself to perform and gets very stressed by it. It’s very stressful for him. He goes through a whole emotional process. But he had a lot of physical work to do before this.”

Let’s not forget that even the NBA icon put in a shift during his recent role for DWTS. However, he couldn’t win the Mirror Ball trophy, but he was happy to pursue it, since it was on his bucket list for the longest time. Because of hooping career, that move never materialized until this year. Similarly, there is another gig that he had teased years ago.

Dwight Howard gave up on his other career post-NBA due to this reason

The 39-year-old’s final stint was with the Purple and Gold franchise during the 2021-22 season. Post that season, the 6 foot 10 star would frequently visit the Performance Center of the WWE. Yes, the #1 wrestling promotion in the world, where even Shaquille O’Neal has appeared multiple times. Even the COO of WWE, Triple H, stated, “The ball is in his court.”

Earlier this year, Dwight Howard made it clear about his plans for the wrestling world. “I was talking to Ric Flair. He said I don’t know if my knees is good for wrestling,” via TMZ. The big man surely had some impact on his knees. After all, he has the most dunks (2,950) in the history of the league since the stat became official in 1996. Even though a WWE move might not seem certain in the future, DH-12 is sure about his future plans.

“The next thing for me is just to be at home and be there for my children.” Earlier this month, spoke on LATRYGUY YouTube channel with Alex Cottrell, about spending time with his kids. The father of 5, couldn’t spend time with them due to his hooping career, but doesn’t want to miss any of their future actions.