Shaquille O’Neal Remains Firm Despite Getting Publicly Exposed by Dwight Howard

It is hard to believe that a nickname has been at the center of the beef between Shaquille O’Neal and Dwight Howard. O’Neal has been critical of him for as long as he was an analyst and Howard would respond mostly with grave offense. However, Shaq reiterated once more, that there’s no feud. This comes after Howard’s public plea to end their feud was turned down by Shaq.

After Draymond Green made appearances on The Big Podcast, Diesel returned the favor. But Green started by pressing Shaq’s sore nerve on his self-titled show. And a 6’10” nerve for the big man would be Howard and 4X NBA champion’s criticism of him.

When discussing Shaq’s criticism of a lot of players, O’Neal told Green, “When I criticize players I try to put some truth in it. Like for 10-15 years, people think that I hate Dwight. I actually really love Dwight.” Shaq went as far as to say that Howard is a little more athletic than he was. That also meant he had higher expectations of him.

He added, “I would always say you’re not dominating so hopefully he would get the message and say f**k you Shaq this is what I got to do.” Shaq also mentioned Kareem Abdul-Jabbar did something similar to him when he first came to LA.

The feud between the two former Orlando players began when Shaq claimed that Howard stole his “Superman” nickname years ago. In 2008, Howard claimed he was Superman during that year’s All-Star Slam Dunk Contest. But O’Neal first used that moniker when playing for Magic. Since then O’Neal has constantly criticized Howard and the two have taken many verbal jabs at each other.

When earlier this year, Orlando Magic retired Shaq’s #32 jersey, Howard said that his jersey should have been retired first. Appearing on the All-Stars Podcast by Strong Group Howard questioned the decision saying Shaq had spent less time at Orlando than him. He said, “How many years did Shaq play in Orlando? Four years, so that’s kind of crazy. I played there for nine years. What we did in Orlando, no offense to Shaq; he should have his jersey retired, but I should have mine too. Me, or at least T-Mac and Anfernee Hardaway.”

Both players took Magic to NBA Finals, although they were unable to get them to championship glory. O’Neal may have put the franchise on the map, but Howard also revived the team and had more of an impact having spent more than double the time Shaq did in Orlando.

In the media, it seems like a very serious feud, something they repeatedly denied, where both parties have different narratives of what is going on. In January this year, O’Neal appeared on Trae Young’s podcast, From The Point and addressed why has been harsh on Howard and what many assume as “hate” is actually him trying to push him to get better.

“If I mention your name, it means I love and respect you. Like, I used to love Dwight. But as a big brother, I ain’t gonna let my little brother slide. Cause I want you to be better than me,” Shaq said on the podcast.

Following this, Howard reached to O’Neal in order to end their feud and tweeted, “I never had a problem with you so can we finally end this as adults.” To this Shaq simply replied, “Nope lol,” leaving everyone baffled.

Then earlier this year, Shaq claimed on his podcast that Howard never reached out to him for advice at any point. However, Howard refuted this in an appearance on The OGs show. He flat out said, “That’s a lie. There hasn’t been a time where Shaq has just reached out like that. I’ve reached out to Shaq myself on multiple occasions, cuz I’m like what’s the issue? I understand the competitor side but we don’t even compete against each other.”

Although, Shaq may have mellowed a little when it comes to Howard, he has often taken shots at the former Lakers player. Following Howard’s message to Magic to retire his jersey, O’Neal claimed that Penny Hardaway and Tracy McGrady should have their jerseys retired before Howard.

In 2022, Diesel even claimed that Howard, a 2020 NBA Champion with Lakers, is not a Hall of Famer, which sounded a little harsh. Another dig was taken a couple of months ago on his The Big Podcast. Shaq said he knew his time on the court was up when he realized his stats were down. “I look at the stats, I had 9 points. I’m like, ‘This ain’t fu****g Shaq, this is Dwight Howard,” he added.

Shaq maintains the criticism came from tough love. But as Howard pointed out, there is a hint of competition.

Dwight Howard said Shaq tried to put him down

Both have comparable careers within the franchise but neither can agree on who is better. While Howard believes he deserves to have his number retired by the franchise alongside Shaq’s, O’Neal dared Howard’s then-teammate, JJ Redick, “You probably got Dwight over me as the Magic’s best big man ever.” In the same interview, Shaq counted himself, Dwight and Greg Kite as Magic’s best big men ever.

Howard responded as usual through his own podcast. Customarily, he denied tensions between them and claimed he can’t compete against O’Neal. “I seen the clip with him and JJ. He said instead of saying who’s the best magic player, try to say who’s the most dominant. Obviously, you dominated. Hell you, 7’4, I’m 6’10 doing the same thing Shaq doing… I’m not making no excuses.”

It’s a cycle for Shaq and Howard to deny any animosity then provoke each other, rinse and repeat. We now have to wait for Howard to respond to O’Neal’s latest comments about him.

Stay tuned for more such updates, and to follow what Shaq’s ex-agent, Leonard Armato had to say about the marketing genius, watch this video.