Shaquille O'Neal Reveals How He Squashed Beef With Dwight Howard
Shaquille O'Neal and Dwight Howard are no longer beefing after 17 years of animosity between the two legendary centers. Their career trajectories have more similarities than some would like to admit, although O'Neal collected more championship rings than Howard.
After starting their careers in Orlando, becoming two forces to reckon with, both O'Neal and Howard continued their journey in Los Angeles. Shaq signed a seven-year, $121 million contract with the Lakers in 1996 free agency, while Howard was traded from Orlando in 2012 to create what turned out to be one of the worst super teams in NBA history alongside Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, and Steve Nash.
Shaquille O'Neal and Dwight Howard have had an ongoing beef.© Kyle Terada-Imagn Images
Four years before D-12 joined the Lakers, he wore a Superman cape on his way to the slam dunk contest win. O'Neal was previously called "Superman" during his active days, and seeing people calling Howard that didn't sit well with him.
Nearly 20 years have passed since the start of their rivalry. Even after retiring, O'Neal kept firing shots at Howard now and then.
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It all changed after Howard requested O'Neal to walk him out at the 2025 Hall of Fame ceremony. The four-time NBA champion accepted the request and called Howard his boy.
After many years of beefing with each other, they sat to talk in the latest episode of O'Neal's "The Big Podcast with Shaq."
A clip shared on Friday (via Legion Hoops on X) shows how these two buried the hatchet and ended the seemingly never-ending beef after they were at the same bar.
"You surprised me at the bar," O'Neal said. "I'm at the bar and he just got his jersey retired. I'm sitting there and everybody think we were going to (expletive) fight.
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"I'm sitting there and I got my back to the door. My boy with me, he's smoking. Dwight come up with this big swole, muscled dude and they stand behind me... I turn, I see Dwight and I'm like, 'Oh (expletive), we about to tear this (expletive) up.
"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?'"
Since that moment, their relationship and interaction have changed completely. O'Neal agreed to walk out Howard during the Hall of Fame ceremony, they had a long conversation on this podcast and perhaps this will be the start of many other collaborations between them.
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They found success with the same team, became first-time champions with the same organization, and were more similar than they liked to admit. After almost two decades, the two Supermen aren't going against each other.
Related: Shaquille O'Neal's Clear Message to Dwight Howard After Hall of Fame Request
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