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“Ben Simmons and Julius Randle Gotta Go to Taiwan”: Shaquille O’Neal Echoes Dwight Howard’s Recruitment Call to the Taoyuan Leopards

Tonoy Sengupta
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"Ben Simmons and Julius Randle Gotta Go to Taiwan": Shaquille O'Neal Echoes Dwight Howard's Recruitment Call to the Taoyuan Leopards

Dwight Howard hasn’t been doing too badly for himself in Taiwan. In 20 games for the Taoyuan Leopards, Howard averaged an impressive 23.2 points, 16.2 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks per game. Despite that, his team went just 6-24 during the 2022-23 season. It’s clear they need reinforcements. And it appears that Dwight Howard is trying to get them from the NBA, an idea that Shaquille O’Neal seems to absolutely adore. Oh, how the tables have turned.

Until now, Howard has called out Chris Paul and Ja Morant through Twitter. However, it seems the former Lakers star has cast a wider net, something that has caught the attention of just about everyone.

Dwight Howard calls every underperforming NBA player to Taiwan to help form a superteam

Dwight Howard was forced to leave the NBA because nobody quite understood his worth as a center. Even in his old age, he was a serviceable backup center who could play on a championship team.

His 2020 championship ring with the Lakers is proof of that. However, as he started asking for a bigger role, franchises in the NBA were averse to the idea. And by the end, he was forced to go to leave the USA to find playing time elsewhere. He landed in Taiwan.

However, as sad as that sounds, Howard is not having such a bad time out there. As we mentioned before he couldn’t help but invite NBA stars to Taiwan. Even hip-hop star, Snoop Dogg has decided to join in on helping out Dwight. He even put a post about it on his Instagram.

“Julius Randle… Ben Simmons, Come on!”

And in case you don’t believe Shaquille O’Neal agreed with this man’s take, just take a look at the tweet below by ‘tragicpatek’.

The fact that Shaquille O’Neal agrees with Dwight Howard on anything is a miracle on its own. After slighting him for playing in Taiwan and posting stuff against his performances, this feels bizarre.

It’s hard to tell whether this is the hypocritical side of O’Neal, or a message from him saying that these players’ time in the NBA is done. We’ll let you decide which scenario it is.

Dwight Howard wants Ja Morant in Taiwan

Ja Morant’s case is admittedly a bit different from the others. You see, while the likes of James Harden, Ben Simmons, Jordan Poole, and Chris Paul may be reaching the end of their time in the NBA, Morant is a young star. He is only 23 and is already one of the best in the league.

The reason Dwight Howard asked him to join him in Taiwan is because of his ongoing controversy. His involvement with firearms has reignited all over again, something you can read about in full detail, right here.

And while Dwight’s jab might be in jest, it might sadly become reality if Ja doesn’t change his ways.

About the author

Tonoy Sengupta

Tonoy Sengupta

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Tonoy Sengupta is a Senior Editor at The SportsRush. Coming from an athletically inclined family, he has been surrounded by sports ever since he was 4 years old. But, while initially pouring all his time into Football (soccer), at 14, Tonoy discovered basketball through the countless highlights of Stephen Curry humiliating players from Curry Land. And just like that, a fiery passion for the game was ignited within Tonoy. And soon after, he decided to become a student of journalism, graduating in 2022, and choosing sports as his area of interest. Today, you can find him spending 99% of his time browsing through every type of content on every team in the NBA, before uncorking everything he has found to the world. In the 1% he isn't doing this, you can find him playing Basketball, Football, Volleyball, or practically any other sport he has had the opportunity to learn.

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