On May 15, ESPN reported that Howard was mourning the death of the mother to his 6-year-old son David. Per the outlet, Melissa Rios died of an epileptic seizure on March 27 at the age of 31.

"I've had some things happen in my personal life that has been difficult to really handle," Howard shared with reporters via video. "My son's mom, she had passed away a month and a half ago and it's extremely difficult for me to try to understand how to talk to my son, who's 6 years old, just about the whole situation."

Because of COVID-19, scheduling a traditional funeral was tough. However, the veteran says he and his son were able to properly hold a homegoing for Rios thanks to social distancing measures.

"There was no way I could not be there for my son, and even for her family," the former Houston Rocket said. "I definitely would've felt like that would've been bad. She deserves and he would deserve better if I didn't do that that."

Though Howard has elected to not reveal too much about his children, one thing definitely remains clear: his focused has always been to be the best father he can be, no matter what obstacles he faces.

Melissa-Rios

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