Dwight Howard came into the NBA with much fanfare and the Orlando Magic selected him first overall in the 2004 NBA Draft. That made it back-to-back years that a high schooler had gone no. 1, as LeBron James had been drafted by the Cavaliers the year before.
Howard wouldn’t quite have the rookie season that LeBron had, but he was still pretty good, as he averaged 12 points and 10 rebounds per game, excellent numbers for someone so young. He set records by becoming the youngest player in NBA history to average a double-double or average just 10 rebounds in itself. Howard was a physical specimen unlike any other at the time and he quickly began drawing comparisons with another center who was picked no. 1 by the Magic, Shaquille O’Neal.
Shaquille O’Neal Says He Thought Dwight Howard Was Better Than Him When He First Arrived In The NBA
Shaq and Dwight would get along well at first, but it wouldn’t last long, as Howard putting on a superman costume during the 2008 dunk contest didn’t sit well with O’Neal, as that was his persona. From that point on, Shaq would continuously ridicule Howard and he diminishes his achievements to this day. He did, however, recently admit during an appearance on the Drink Champs podcast that he felt Howard was a bit better than him when he came into the league.
(starts at 16:53 mark):
“Yeah, he was nice. So when he first came on, I thought he was a little bit better, more athletic. I’m more hip-hop and more street but he could jump higher. So a lot of times when I criticize these guys, I’m giving them the answers to the test but they don’t know it. Like I kept saying about the way all you gotta do is average 28-15 but you know these youngsters, their favorite thing to say is to say ‘Oh you hating.’ I’m like yo if you do what I tell you to do, you can be up there but he never listened.”
It is surprising to see Shaq admit that, but he did end things by saying Howard never listened to what he told him to do, which ends up being another knock against Dwight. This was a lot milder than the shot Shaq took at Howard earlier this year, where he said Dwight isn’t a Hall of Famer.
Howard responded to it earlier this month, as he was upset that O’Neal continues to hate on him. He wondered why Shaq hates someone who was following in his footsteps, but it seems O’Neal never took it that way and we doubt he ever stops hating on Howard.
