Dwight Howard and Shaquille O’Neal have had a long-standing feud that often resurfaces after either party fans the flame. In Thanasis Antetokounmpo’s podcast, Howard gave his detailed perspective on this conflict with the Los Angeles Lakers legend.
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The three-time Defensive Player of the Year posed a direct question to Shaq to start things, “What’s the beef about? Like what is your true issue with me?”
O’Neal has previously voiced his frustration with Howard, accusing him of taking his nickname ‘the Superman’ and attempting to replicate his career. While Howard admitted to aspiring to play a similar style as O’Neal, he dismissed the accusations, assuring “The Big Aristotle” that any similarities in their career trajectories were entirely coincidental.
“Me going to Orlando was not orchestrated by me to copy you, me going to LA was not orchestrated to copy you… Me getting the “Superman” name had nothing to do with you. So you know to take it and make it seem like I’m either trying to one up you or disrespect you, it’s like total opposite of who I am,” Howard said.
Howard admires Shaq and holds him in high regard, but he does have an issue with how the TNT analyst often criticizes the likes of Rudy Gobert and him on national television, which indicates a certain kind of malice masked as criticism.
“You want somebody to get better, he could do better, but not belittling someone every chance you get on air. I don’t think that that’s right,” Howard concluded.
The veteran center’s comments suggest that he still has some resentment towards Shaq on the issue. However, the big fella recently revealed that he no longer dislikes the 6ft 10” big man.
Shaq wanted to help Howard reach Superman status
Shaquille O’Neal clarified that he never intended to have issues with Dwight Howard. Instead, he often offered advice, aiming to help Howard reach his full potential.
“All I said about young fella was he need to average 28 and 15 and I don’t know how to get to he don’t like me. I’m like that has nothing to do with like I’m telling you how to get to “Superman” status like this is all you got to do every time,” Shaq said.
However, according to Shaq, Howard misinterpreted his comments as criticism and believed there was animosity between them. As a result, the Hall-Of-Famer decided to stop offering guidance and distanced himself from Howard.
