Shaquille O’Neal and Dwight Howard got into another heated exchange on X on Monday. After Howard stated on a podcast that he wanted to confront O’Neal over the repeated shots he had fired over the years, the latter responded by saying he never cared about him and was joking. That response seemed to have ticked off Howard as he fired some brutal shots at O’Neal.
“I know you care. Cuz yo insecure a** been hating and talking s*** for 20 years. You to big to be this insecure. I hope you don’t bring my name up again. 52 years old tweeting me. And still hating. Now all this time you was joking. You always been jealous.
“Jealous of Kobe (Bryant), Penny (Hardaway), (Dwyane Wade). You jealous of Charles (Barkley) too. Go move around big lazy insecure a**. I still have that long 5 Paragraph direct message you sent me a couple years ago telling me that I’m not that great to hate. And you still doing it. It’s 2025 grow the hell up. and move on.”
That was ruthless. Howard knew where to strike to bother O’Neal, as he had a fair few clashes with his co-stars during his time in the NBA. Did he clash with them because of jealousy? Probably not, but maybe to an extent when it came to Kobe Bryant.
As for Howard claiming O’Neal is insecure, he is not the first to say that out loud. Many have found it bewildering that a man who accomplished so much and has gone down as one of the all-time greats can come across as so insecure.
This beef with Howard seems to bring out the worst of O’Neal. He seems to lose any and all objectivity when talking about Dwight and what makes it worse, is how this beef started.
O’Neal was complimentary of Howard when he entered the NBA in 2004 but the relationship went south in the late 2000s when the latter started embracing the “Superman” nickname that the former once had. Shaq was not happy about it and has been firing shots ever since.
The most recent one prior to this exchange was O’Neal stating that he does not respect Howard’s title with the Los Angeles Lakers. He called Dwight a “bus rider” on that team but then proceeded to state that he respects JaVale McGee’s ring. Both big men played somewhat of an identical role on that team, so to respect one and not the other just comes across as him being petty.
It would appear it’s not just in public either that some hurtful things have been said. Howard once claimed O’Neal had sent him very disrespectful messages. He didn’t want to reveal them but probably should have.
What Howard had stated publicly on numerous occasions was that he wanted the beef to end. O’Neal has never been interested in mending fences, though. He claimed now that he’ll never again talk about Dwight but you shouldn’t take his word on this.
Back in 2022, O’Neal stated he wouldn’t hurt Howard’s feelings ever again as his mother had scolded him for firing shots. Well, he clearly didn’t stop and you shouldn’t expect him to end things now either.
Update:
It would appear Howard still hasn’t given up hope that he and O’Neal can settle their differences, as he sent a message on X on Tuesday morning.
“Btw I don’t want people get entertained by two black man going back and forth over petty stuff. I don’t want to bicker I just want to settle this like the two successful HOF black men we are! You the most dominant center of all time ! Come on to the podcast and let’s hash this out.”
Will O’Neal accept the invite? It is unlikely but you do hope he does. This beef has dragged on for far too long and it’s time for O’Neal to bury the hatchet.
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