Dwight Howard said he's tired of Shaquille O'Neal hating him for the past 20 years.
Howard guest starred on Ray Daniels “GAUD Show” On Monday, he explained that he had tried to discuss his long-standing beef with Shaq but was unsuccessful, and questioned whether he should “take the plunge” when it came to that.
“I never disrespected him,” Howard, who left the NBA to play overseas in 2022, said of Shaq. “But he always had something to say. Sometimes I would get upset and be like, 'Oh, Shaq, this has to stop, dude.' tried to [talk to him]”
Howard, 39, was a contestant on Season 33 of Dancing with the Stars last year and recalled reaching out to someone close to Shaq who suggested they set up a sit-down to resolve their feud. .
“At this point, I thought, 'Should I throw up my hands?' What are we doing? Because, for me, the only thing we did with Shaq was All I can do is imitate his voice. But what else can I imitate? He's Shaquille O'Neal, the most dominant center of all time. But he also keeps saying something about me. , I'm like, 'Hey, brother, do we really need to fight?'
Their opinions include a discussion of the nickname “Superman” associated with Shaq during his reign. Howard eventually adopted it during his time in the league, but Shaq criticized him for not being strong enough to compete against his namesake.
“The thing I hate the most is the fact that he always thought I was trying to be him or be like him,” Howard said. “But then again, if I want to be you or be like you, I should take that as a compliment and show you how great you are as a player and as a person. Isn't it? I don't care at any level. Now, have I ever wanted to take something from him or his life and put it into my own life? We’ve done it with Magic Johnson, LeBron James, all these people.”
After hearing Howard's comments, Shaq vowed never to mention Howard's name again.
“The fact that you think I care about you is funny, but I'll never bring up your name again, sensitive big man, jokester who can't take a joke.” Shaq wrote Monday of X. “I'll never say your name again. Have a great day and now you're deleted. Have a great day.”
Howard, who won the NBA title with the Lakers in 2020, doubled down on his comments, accusing Shaq of being “jealous” of other NBA greats in a reply post.
“I know you care, because this insecure guy has been hating and talking to each other for 20 years.” Howard wrote. “you[o] It's great to feel so anxious. I hope you never bring up my name again. The 52-year-old tweeted. And I still hate it. Well, until now you were joking. You were always jealous. Jealous of Kobe [Bryant],penny [Hardaway], [Dwyane Wade]. you are jealous of charles [Barkley] Too.
“Get your big, lazy, insecure ass moving around. I still have that long 5-paragraph direct message you sent me a few years ago saying I’m not that hateful. And you're still doing it. It's 2025, grow more. And move on.”
Howard didn't talk about Shaq until Daniels brought up their feud with the four-time NBA champion.
He didn't seem to understand why they weren't working.
In another post on Tuesday, Howard said he no longer wants to “argue” with Shaq.
“By the way, I don't want two black men entertaining people by going back and forth over trivial matters.” Howard wrote. “We don't want to argue, we just want to solve this problem like two successful HOF black men!” You are the most dominant center of all time! Come on the podcast and let's discuss this. ”
Last November, Shaq turned down Howard's offer to box at X.
“Mr. Shaq, let's make some bread,” Howard wrote.
“It takes more than one ring to get in the ring with me. I stick with true champions like @RobGronkowski. And you can get the Superman belt, all your homie “Yes,” Shaq replied.
