“He’s Damn Near My Dad’s Age”: Dwight Howard Recalls Being Uncomfortable With Shaquille O’Neal’s Constant Insults

February 15, 2020; Chicago, Illinois, USA; NBA great Shaquille O’Neal (left) videotapes Los Angeles Lakers player Dwight Howard (right) in a Superman costume dedicated to the late Los Angeles Lakers great Kobe Bryant during NBA All Star Saturday Night at United Center. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

NBA rivalries are a thing of legend. Player against player, fighting for dominance in the media’s eyes, Finals matchups that took place multiple times — we’ve seen it all. But no rivalry makes you sit back and think, “Why are these two players beefing?” quite like the feud between Dwight Howard and Shaquille O’Neal.

Their beef certainly seems weird to the casual fan. Both big men, drafted No. 1 overall by the Orlando Magic, dominant in the paint. If anything, the similarities in their games should have made for a mentor-mentee relationship. But when Dwight won the Dunk Contest in 2008 while wearing a Superman cape, Shaq took offense. He felt that “Superman” was his nickname, and he didn’t like the fact that it was being used by a player with no rings to his name.

Ever since then, the big fella has taken not-so-subtle jabs at Howard. During an appearance on Patrick Bet-David’s podcast, Dwight recalled how Shaq’s constant needling made him feel uncomfortable.

Shaq was a hero to Howard

Howard said the weirdest part about the hate he was receiving was that Shaq had always been a hero to him, someone he looked up to while growing up. The age gap between them didn’t help, either. “First of all, he’s damn near my dad’s age. Second of all, I watched him play my whole life, so I have the utmost respect for him as a player,” he said.

“But like, what is our issue here? What really is our issue here? I don’t know you from nowhere for us to have this type of issue!” he continued.

Dwight did acknowledge that some of Shaq’s animosity may have stemmed from the fact that the two were constantly compared to each other. Orlando’s #1 pick, athletically gifted, fell short of the ultimate glory in the Finals; their careers seemed very similar at the start. But he pointed out that comparison is the thief of joy, and that despite the surface-level similarities in their game, D12 and Shaq were fundamentally different players.

While he made multiple efforts to squash the beef, the common consensus on the internet was that Shaq wasn’t ready to do so, so it made Dwight’s next words a welcome surprise.

How the two finally settled their beef

Talking — that’s how two of the NBA’s most dominant big men settled their differences. Howard recalled meeting Shaq at a bar in Orlando after being inducted into the Magic’s Hall of Fame. With both of them being hard to miss, the entire bar braced for something to go down.

Instead of confronting, they discussed calmly backstage. Howard noted Shaq apologized for potentially disrespectful remarks. Shaq clarified he aimed to motivate Howard to excel. On The Big Podcast in April, Shaq addressed their past. This followed Dwight’s Hall of Fame induction announcement. Howard requested Shaq escort him at the ceremony. The four-time champion agreed promptly.

It seemed like that was the end of the beef — until the episode dropped. Shaq then clarified things even further. “He’s like, ‘Hey, big fella, can I talk to you?’ So we go in the back, and before he started talking, I said, ‘Hey, man, what makes you think I don’t like you?’” Shaq revealed on the pod.

As of now, things between Shaq and Dwight seem to be on good terms. The big fella is set to walk D12 out at his Hall of Fame induction later this year, and sooner rather than later, Dwight’s jersey is likely to join Shaq’s in the rafters of the Magic’s arena, rightfully honoring two of the most dominant players in franchise history.