Defensive prowess as well known as his, Dwight Howard naturally counters anyone questioning his abilities. A 3x Defensive Player of the Year indeed, but he couldn’t be saved from Shaquille O’Neal‘s dunk back in the 2009-10 season. But that does not mean he is willing to take claim of all dunks on him.

“He ain’t really dunk on me,” Howard said on Above The Rim after the podcast crew had played the video featuring Nick Young’s dunk. And from what it seems, D12 is not completely wrong in his claim. From the video, it’s more like Young dunked near Howard rather than on him.

And we don’t blame D12 for straight away denying the dunk. The former NBA star, as mentioned earlier, has had a certain reputation as a defender. The titles like 3x DPOY and 2x Block Leader speak volumes about his prowess.

As far as Shaquille O’Neal’s dunk on him is concerned, considering that the former LA Lakers star’s stature and self-claimed ‘most dominant’ title, it wouldn’t be much of a disrespect. And it’s not as if Howard never had an up on Big Diesel.

Now, although Shaquille O’Neal has had a better career average than Howard in terms of scoring and blocks, the head on battles between the two tell a different story. Not only D12 stands leveled up in wins in their 12 matchups, but also has a slight edge over Shaq in scoring and rebounding. While Shaquille O’Neal averaged 15.6 points, 10.9 rebounds, Howard averaged 16.5 points, 10.9 rebounds through these matchups.

Now, some can argue that 8x All-Star’s higher points against Shaq came mostly during the time when the Big Diesel was nearing his retirement. However, if you go by Nick Young’s opinion, he recently seemed to have sided with Howard in the age-old beef between D12 and Shaq. No, Young did not claim the dunk against the 8x All-Star as a disrespect, but just a friendly take.

Nick Young claims Dwight Howward to be a “better” superman than Shaquille O’Neal

Most fans of Shaq and Dwight would know where this beef started from. For those who don’t know, the most commonly believed time is when D12 wore a cape and a superman logo tee to the 2008 NBA slam dunk contest. Not only did he win the contest, but the nickname Superman flooded the media headlines.

Shaq, who has held the nickname close to himself to the point of getting it tattooed, seemed to have taken offence. Back then, O’Neal even stated Howard had not achieved enough to deserve the title. “Superman is still mine… He has to do something first to be called Superman. Anyone can win a slam-dunk contest,” he said.

However, Nick Young has now stated that the reason the 5x NBA champ hates Howard is that the 3x DPOY player wore Superman tag better than Shaquille O’Neal. “He probably wore the ‘Superman’ better. That’s why he was mad… I’m saying that’s why he probably don’t like you… Sh*t,” he said. Now this may be debatable. But we have one thing clear at least — Nick Young did not dunk on Howard in the said video. Near him, yes, but not him.

Stay tuned for more updates. Join us for the exciting second episode of the “Dual Threat Show” as our host, BG12, sits down with Georgia Bulldogs star and Mountain West All-Freshman Team Selection, Asia Avinger.