Dwight Howard has been granted a temporary protective order against his estranged wife, Amy Luciani, as the former NBA star’s increasingly messy divorce battle takes another dramatic turn.
According to court documents cited by Us Weekly, Howard told the court that Luciani showed up at his home on April 5 for the first time in six weeks and threatened him during the encounter. Howard alleged that Luciani “threatened to punch” him in the throat and “threatened to kill whoever was in the car” with him. He also claimed she had devised a plan intended to hurt his chances of retaining custody of his daughter.
Per Us Weekly, a Georgia judge signed the order on April 7, requiring Luciani — whose legal name is Amber Howard — to stay at least 100 yards away from Howard, two of his children, his Georgia mansion, and the children’s private school.
The judge also granted Howard temporary exclusive use of the home he shared with Luciani, as well as temporary possession of a 2015 Mercedes. Luciani is also prohibited from contacting Howard or his children by phone, text, or social media.
In the same now-deleted video, she held up a small bag containing a white substance and said, “I’ve been trying to tell everybody, he needs some help.” She later alleged that Howard’s struggles were responsible for the collapse of their marriage.
Howard further alleged that Luciani’s recent behavior follows a pattern that stretches back through the final months of their marriage. In March, Luciani publicly claimed that CPS had visited their home “three times in less than three months” before taking her daughter.
Days later, Howard filed for divorce, describing the marriage as “irretrievably broken” and requesting exclusive use of the Georgia mansion.
Luciani claimed the couple had been offered a reality series that would have paid them $1 million each, but that Howard abruptly canceled the project by emailing producers.
Howard’s latest filing directly addresses those earlier accusations. In the petition for a protective order, he accused Luciani of defaming him through her social media posts and said he had “lost money and deals” because of the claims she made publicly.
He also alleged that Luciani displays “excessive jealousy,” is “obsessive,” and has assaulted him in the past when “drunk or high.”
The former Los Angeles Lakers star and Luciani married in January 2025, but the relationship has been turbulent almost from the beginning. Howard first filed for divorce in June 2025, and Luciani filed her own petition the following month. Both cases were eventually dismissed before Howard filed again in March 2026.
