Fresh from the NBA playoffs, Houston Rockets player Dwight Howard was today spotted paddleboarding at Manly Wharf, but onlooker Paul Allison Jr said he wasn’t showing his trademark agility and coordination.

“He started off on a paddleboard but I don’t think they could get one big enough for him,” Mr Allison said. “He kept falling off so they got him a kayak but he bailed out of that too.”

media_camera Dwight Howard puts in a shot over Robin Lopez in the first quarter of Game Six of the Western Conference Quarterfinals.

While Mr Howard’s friend continued paddleboarding, Mr Allison said he gave up and sat on a rock overlooking the water.

“I just sat down with him, and we ended up chatting for 20 minutes,” Mr Allison said. “I couldn’t believe it was him, and there wasn’t a pack of cameras around him.”

media_camera Dwight Howard says he should stick to basketball.

The Houston Rockets lost to Portland in the first round of the 2014 NBA Playoffs, no doubt giving Mr Howard a longer-than-expected holiday.

Mr Allison said Mr Howard revealed he hadn’t been in Australia long but had already developed a fear of our spiders.

“He told me he’d seen a massive spider, but then when he showed me the size of the spider with his hands, it was really just a stock-standard spider,” he said. “He told me he was scared of them.”

He also said he’d seen a small kangaroo but was keen to see a big red kangaroo. Mr Allison said Mr Howard had one piece of wisdom for him as he was leaving.

“As his girlfriend came back form paddleboarding, he looks at her and says ‘babe, I’ve had an epiphany — I think I should stick to basketball’,” Mr Allison said.