There was a time in the league when the two ‘Supermans’ were butting heads with one another. Shaquille O’Neal and Dwight Howard were almost at each other’s throats for quite some time, especially when Shaq would often ridicule and berate Howard at any chance he got. Recently though, the Los Angeles Lakers legend went on to address his relationship with Howard, leading D-12 to acknowledge their awkward but familiar bond with each other.
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Shaquille O’Neal made an appearance on Trae Young’s podcast, From The Point recently, where he talked about how his relationship with Dwight Howard was and how the media and the world portrayed it.
“If I mention your name, it means I love and respect you. Like, I used to love Dwight. He did something I couldn’t do. I wish I could jump that high. I love Dwight Howard. Other people don’t know that this is my first time saying that. But as a big brother, I ain’t gonna let my little brother slide. Cause I want you to be better than me. Sorta like, a lot of people don’t understand this thing of ours, they think it’s just hate. No, it ain’t hate. I’m telling you how to get here. You know I’m here Dawg, I’m telling you how to get here.”
— Dwight Howard (@DwightHoward) January 19, 2024
As Shaquille O’Neal said, this is the first time he may have mentioned his love for Dwight Howard. But, his love for Howard’s game and jealousy toward the 2020 champion’s leaping ability do seem to be genuine. So, it could indeed be possible that the reason Shaq picked on Howard for so many years was simply so that he could help elevate his game.
Shaquille O’Neal had numerous accolades to his name. So, for him to wish that Howard would also reach the same pedestal as he stood on, if not better, was all that Shaq wanted. But how the media and fans started perceiving it as hate was when O’Neal backed off a bit.
In fact, this isn’t the first time Shaq revealed why he picked on Dwight Howard. According to YahooSports, O’Neal had the same take of pissing off Howard to the point where he stepped up to the plate and become one of the best centers in the league.
Shaquille O’Neal’s relationship with Dwight Howard
After his stint in the NBA, Dwight Howard decided to continue his career overseas in Taiwan. At first, Howard had an amazing debut game but later, wins got harder to come by and the team had a 3-11 record.
Despite his strong outings, Shaquille O’Neal wasn’t impressed and still decided to roast Howard. This led Howard to send out a lengthy message to Shaq to stop hating and being disrespectful.
Dwight Howard may have acknowledged the love Shaquille O’Neal has for him. But that wasn’t always the case. Back in 2022, Dwight Howard went on to call out Shaq on his constant berating. Howard went so far as to call it jealousy instead.
Hopefully, now things have finally mellowed down between the two given how Shaq admitted his love for Howard and the latter acknowledged it on social media.
