2020 NBA champion Dwight Howard played in the NBA for 18 seasons and was one of the best centers in the league during his prime. The eight-time All-Star was often compared to NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal for various reasons. Both Shaq and Dwight were dominant centers and were drafted #1 by the Orlando Magic. However, O’Neal was an immediate superstar as he stepped up to the league in terms of scoring but Howard was not. Also, the comparisons led to a bad feud that still exists to this day.
Howard now plays for the Taoyuan Leopards in the Taiwanese professional basketball league. The 2008 Slam Dunk Champion has been taking his time out to travel around Taiwan during his time there.
Dwight Howard poses with a lion
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Dwight Howard is loving life in Taiwan playing in the T1 league. During his free time, he has been visiting some tourist attractions in the country. On his recent trip, he came in close proximity to a very dangerous animal. Howard shared a video of himself standing behind a chained lion. The lion looked vicious as it gave an apparent warning with a roar at the camera. The NBA veteran stood behind and imitated the roar.
Two lions 🦁 🦁 one video 💪🏾💪🏾 pic.twitter.com/qhqpGGiXhP
— Dwight Howard (@DwightHoward) January 31, 2023
Looks like Howard is enjoying his life in the Asian country. The former #1 pick made a huge debut at the T1 League. According to a report from Yahoo, he scored 38 points with 25 rebounds and 9 assists in his first game for his new team. Fans could not believe the stat line and hoped to see him continue playing great.
However, like some fans, Shaquille O’Neal was not impressed. During an episode of the Big Podcast with Shaq, the Los Angeles Lakers legend made some comments belittling the T1 league and suggested Howard only did what was expected of him. So Dwight took to social media and replied with a video of his own. The three-time DPOY claimed O’Neal was just being a “hater” and being disrespectful to his teammates and opponents. Then Shaq apologized for his comments. But that was not the end of it.
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Shaquille O’Neal’s recent dig at Howard
A video clip of Dwight Howard struggling in the T1 league was trending on social media recently. Howard struggled against former Sacramento Kings center Sim Bhullar. The 6’10” Howard looked gassed going up against a 7’5″ Bhullar.
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One fan commented that Howard is not a Hall of Famer and Shaquille O’Neal replied to the comment by saying that the fan was right. However, this did not sit well with the fans. Most fans sided with Dwight and criticized Shaq for his actions.
Do you think Dwight Howard is a Hall of Famer? Let us know in the comments.