“Me and You Gon’ Be in the Back, We Gon’ Be Fighting”: Shaquille O’Neal’s ‘Cousin’ Was Ready to Brawl With Him Over Dwight Howard

The stories of Shaquille O’Neal and his hunger for motivation are renowned in NBA circles. The Big Diesel’s overwhelming power and stature were already hard enough to stop. Moreover, when you add Shaq’s insatiable hunger to be dominant, it made for a different beast on the floor. The Hall of Famer searched for ways to fuel his fire. However, there came times when Shaq lost his way. During those moments he had his first cousin, Jermaine, poke him. Recently, the Los Angeles Lakers great jumped on a podcast and the duo remembered the time they nearly came to blows over Dwight Howard.

Shaq’s beef with Dwight Howard is as sour as modern-day rivalries get. The 51-year-old’s contempt for his Orlando Magic peer began when Howard was termed to be the ‘Superman’ of the league. Given Shaq’s character, it came as no surprise that he wasn’t a fan of his title given away so loosely. Since then, the big man has been on the three-time DPOY’s back, finding any opportunity to belittle him.

Many fans wish the two great centers faced off in their primes. While Shaq wasn’t in his golden days, the duo did have an enthralling matchup back in 2010 when the Cleveland Cavaliers faced the Orlando Magic. Moreover, Big Diesel was not able to completely enforce himself, owing to his age. And this nearly led him to fight his first cousin.

Shaquille O’Neal came close to fighting his cousin after Dwight Howard duel

During his appearance on the Fluent & Chill podcast, Shaq spoke about his mentality around jealousy. The NBA great claims jealousy drives the motivation within him to deliver and do better than his competitors. Similar was the case when he faced off against legendary centers such as David Robinson and Hakeem Olajuwon, and that is the case even today. For the most part, Shaquille O’Neal didn’t need much help to push himself. The 2000 MVP went as far as to make a fake story in the media just to demolish Robinson. Moreover, in the times Shaq lost his way, his cousin, Jermaine stepped in.

READ MORE-“I’m a Little Bit Jealous…Don’t Do That to Me”: Offended Shaquille O’Neal Blasts His Own Cousin for Dragging Him into an Ugly Debate

Remembering the old days, Shaq enlightened the hosts about how his family would motivate him by further trash-talking. In 2010, Jermaine had to watch his brother take 22 points and 16 rebounds from Dwight Howard. Enraged, he openly told Shaq, “If I gotta watch Dwight Howard jump hook you one more time, me and you going to be in the back, we going to be fighting.” 

Early in the game Shaquille O’Neal faced foul trouble after Howard successfully lured him into certain challenges. The animosity was evident in the arena as the two took turns in the post. But after the wake-up call from Jermaine, the then 38-year-old star finished the game with 20 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 blocks, missing jump one shot.

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While Dwight Howard outdueled his counterpart, Shaquille O’Neal did not back down. It does leave the question, who would win in their primes?