Dwight Howard Retires From Basketball To Focus On Family

Dwight Howard is officially walking away from basketball ... claiming while he still has gas left in the tank, the sport made the decision for him -- and now it's time for family.

The 40-year-old No. 1 overall pick in the 2004 NBA Draft released a lengthy statement on Thursday ... acknowledging that most folks might think he already handed in his retirement papers, but that wasn't the case.

DH12 -- who last played in the NBA in the 2021-22 season before taking his talents overseas -- is now going to put all his energy into his family and the community.

Howard thanked his fans ... as well as the "naysayers, the haters, the snakes, and people that came into my life to try to destroy me" -- claiming they only made him stronger.

Howard -- who most notably played for the Orlando Magic, Los Angeles Lakers and Houston Rockets -- ends his career with a ring from the 2020 season, eight All-Star nods, several first-team All-NBA selections and three defensive player of the year honors.

He jumped right from high school to the pros ... and went on to become one of the best centers of his time -- he averaged 15.7 points, 11.8 rebounds and 1.8 blocks a game over 18 seasons.

The career news comes amid a ton of drama off the court -- he filed for divorce from Amber Howard after she made bombshell allegations against him over the weekend. Amber actually filed her own divorce docs, but Dwight beat her to it.

TMZ Sports has obtained 911 calls made by both sides ... indicating things have been boiling over for days.