Shaquille O’Neal and Dwight Howard have been at odds for years. Ever since Howard was drafted No. 1 by the Orlando Magic, 12 years after they had drafted Shaq in the same position, the relationship between the two of the best Orlando big men has been sour.
Howard has finally gone in-depth about his relationship with Shaq and how he doesn’t understand the dislike the 4-time champion has for him on All The Smoke with Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson. Shaq recently said Dwight is not a Hall of Fame-level player.
“I was thinking he wanna fight or something because every time it was something on TV or somebody would say something. ‘No, I don’t think so’. ‘The Lakers got 5 Hall of Famers’ ‘no, no, no, no, only four, he’s not one, don’t put him in there, no, don’t do that, no.'”
“I never had no issues with Shaq. I never wanted to be like Shaq, but I enjoy watching Shaq do what he do. I think he’s the most dominant player to ever play. There’s no player who dominated like Shaq… I’m like, why is he hating on me? He should be happy that somebody is trying to follow in his footsteps.”
“I reached out to try to work out with him, do business, whatever it may be because I ain’t got no bad blood with Shaq, but it just seemed like it’s always something between me and him. Even now, the stuff I was just saying about the Hall of Fame s**t, that happened this season. ‘I can’t watch the Lakers’, I bet he watch Laker games this year cause I ain’t on the team.”
The feud between Dwight and Shaq runs deep and has existed for years now. It is sad to see two prime big men of their generations not get along, especially considering the parallels between Dwight and Shaq’s careers.
The Similarities Between Dwight Howard And Shaquille O’Neal
Before Howard unexpectedly fell down the NBA ranks after making a few questionable team decisions, he was on track to be the defining center of his generation. He and Shaq had identical paths at the start of their career with respect to being drafted by Orlando, leading the team to an NBA Finals, and then leaving them to team up with Kobe Bryant on the Lakers.
They both used the Superman moniker, they both were bad at free throws, and they both were dominant inside presences that have rarely been replicated. Howard made his name as a standout defender, while Shaq was an offensive monster. After Howard’s run with the Lakers failed, he started bouncing around the league.
Shaq won 4 championships but at least Howard got to add 1 in 2020 as a crucial rotational piece for the Lakers. Dwight’s career didn’t reach the highs that Shaq’s did, but he was a major threat in the NBA during his prime.
