Howard pranked mom, made her cry by saying he signed with Jazz

Nearly 1,700 miles separate Georgia from Utah, which makes Dwight Howard's prank on his mother colder than Salt Lake City.

"I wanted to see her reaction, so I told her, I said, 'Mom, I got this big contract, $150 million.' And she was like, 'Oh my God, from who?' I said, 'Utah Jazz,' and she started crying," Howard said during an appearance on the Doug Gottlieb Show on CBS Radio on Monday.

"And I said, 'Mom, sorry. I was just joking. I'm coming home to Atlanta.' And then she was super happy and my family was super excited."

Howard's family was clearly gung-ho on him returning home to ink a deal with the Atlanta Hawks, with Utah perhaps being the complete opposite of what they could have hoped for.

Let's just assume that his mother's reaction was directed at the distance and not her opinion of the Jazz organization, although they haven't qualified for the postseason five of the last six years.

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Howard joining the Hawks has worked out quite well for him after he signed his three-year, $70.5-million contract over the summer. He's currently averaging 15.2 points, 12.4 rebounds, and 1.9 blocks on a career-best 63 percent shooting in his first nine appearances.