Shaquille O’Neal and Dwight Howard have had a longstanding beef regarding the latter trying to borrow the former’s ‘Superman’ moniker. Regardless, it seems like Shaq can move past petty beefs when it comes to pure basketball facts. The big man recently shared an Instagram reel in which fellow NBA legend Dwyane Wade explains why Howard deserved to be included in the NBA’s 75th Anniversary team.
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Shaq’s post comes as a surprise because only recently, he had criticized Howard and the Taoyuan Leopards for having a losing record in the Taiwanese T1 league. Shaq had claimed that Howard was supposed to be averaging 30 points per game in Taiwan, something that the latter had failed to do.
Regardless, it seems like Shaq still respects what Dwight Howard did for the NBA. Speaking on the Club Shay Shay podcast, Dwyane Wade recently explained to Shannon Sharpe that Howard’s career warranted a place in the NBA Top-75 team.
He claimed that the list was subjective, but Howard deserved to be there “1000 Percent”:
“1000 Percent. I really don’t understand. I know a lot of people have a lot of things to say about Dwight Howard, his personality or whatever people like to take a shot at. But when it comes to that man’s actual work, his body of work, it’s undeniable.”
“He took that team to the Finals. You can pick a lot of guys to be on this team, it’s all subjective. But when you’re talking about this generation, these last 25 years, how many names can you think of where Dwight Howard is not in there?” Wade added.
Shaq on Wade’s thoughts on Dwight Howard not being Top 75 pic.twitter.com/lz44ZY5ULa
— tragicpatek (@tragicpatek) August 10, 2023
Howard was the only discernible star on the Orlando Magic team that went all the way to the NBA Finals in 2009. They ended up losing to the LA Lakers, but Howard had already established himself as one of the top Centers in the NBA.
Beyond his nine All-Star selections, Howard’s remarkable achievements also include three DPOY awards. One of the significant highlights of his career was the 2009 Orlando Magic postseason run, during which the high-flying center’s team overcame the LeBron James led Cleveland Cavaliers.
Wade’s comments stay in line with Howard’s own response to the 75th Anniversary team. The 2020 NBA champion had claimed that his exclusion was utterly disrespectful and that he was surprised when he saw the list.
