“U Have Been Deleted”: Shaquille O’Neal Lashes Out at Dwight Howard, Calls Him a ‘Jokestar That Can’t Take a Joke’

Shaquille O’Neal and Dwight Howard are back at it(again). The two legendary big men have been taking shots at one another over and over again for the better part of the last decade and a half. However, it seems like things are finally about to come to an end. In a fiery rant on X, O’Neal called out Howard and made it clear that this was the last time he is talking about him.

“the fact u think I care about u is funny, but I won’t ever bring your name up again sensitive big man, a jokester that can’t take a joke. Won’t ever say your name again ever again. Have a great day and now u have been deleted. Have a great day.” 

@DwightHoward the fact u think I care about u is funny, but I won’t ever bring your name up again sensitive big man, a jokester that can’t take a joke. Won’t ever say your name again ever again. Have a great day and now u have been deleted. Have a great day. #inevercared #trustme…

— SHAQ (@SHAQ) January 7, 2025

While the tweet’s wording makes it clear that Shaq is now done with Howard, the hashtags explain why.

“#inevercared #trustme #dontneedvalidationyoudo #stayoffpodcasts #thefactyouthinkicareisfunny #yougottashowrespecttogetrespect #nowyouredeadtome”

“I never cared, trust me,” read the first two hashtags. “Don’t need validation, you do,” O’Neal added. He also wrote, “The fact you think I care is funny, you gotta show respect to get respect, and now you’re d*ad to me.” However, what explained the reason behind the rant was the fourth hashtag. Shaq wrote, “Stay off podcasts.” 

Perhaps it was Dwight’s appearance on Ray Daniels Presents that triggered O’Neal. On his time on the podcast, Howard had called out Shaq for several things.

“The thing that I hated the most is the fact that he always thought I was trying to be him or be like him. But again, if I wanted to be you or be like you, shouldn’t you take that as a compliment and show how great you are as a player and a person? Yeah, I never wanted to be like Shaq on any level.”

Dwight even talked about how he was planning on showing up to the TNT studios to confront Shaq.

“I’m gonna have to come talk to you man to man here. I’m trying to tell you we go to TNT because I’m a fan of y’all. I was finna roll up to the studio wherever he had to say.”

“Do we need to throw hands?”

Former NBA player Dwight Howard reveals he’s willing to fight it out with Shaq and claims Shaq is behind the scenes blocking him from getting opportunities.

( Ray Daniels Presents/ YouTube) pic.twitter.com/SyKmTi9ndP

— The Art Of Dialogue (@ArtOfDialogue_) January 6, 2025

Howard did have some solid points in his rant. Maybe the two need to sit down and hash things out. Or, maybe Shaq’s approach to ‘delete’ Howard might work too.