Shaquille O'Neal Reveals How He Squashed Beef With Dwight 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.
Advertisement
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.
Advertisement
"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.
Advertisement
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
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NBC News
27 minutes ago
- NBC News
Trey Lance tosses 2 touchdown passes, leading the Chargers over the Lions 34-7 in Hall of Fame game
CANTON, Ohio — On his third team in his fifth season, Trey Lance played like a No. 3 overall pick. Lance threw for 120 yards and two touchdowns, and the Los Angeles Chargers beat the Detroit Lions 34-7 in the Hall of Fame game that kicked off the NFL's preseason Thursday night. 'Big night for Trey. Just played calm, cool, collected, ran the operation, threw the ball really well,' Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh said. The game opened with a moment of silence for the four people killed earlier this week by a shooter who was targeting league headquarters in New York. The gunman also wounded a league employee in the shooting Monday night. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell told NBC he visited the employee for an hour on Wednesday and said the man was improving. There was increased security around Tom Benson Stadium and the Pro Football Hall of Fame village. Jared Goff, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jahmyr Gibbs, David Montgomery, Penei Sewell and the rest of Detroit's star-studded offense didn't see any action against Los Angeles. Coach Dan Campbell's Lions, who went one-and-done in the playoffs last season after winning a franchise-record 15 games, also sat their top two draft picks. 'It's the first one out of the gate,' Campbell said. 'We turned it over five times and had zero takeaways. That's hard. Can't put the defense in that kind of a position. It's hard to get a rhythm when you turn the ball over.' Justin Herbert was among many of the Chargers starters rested by coach Harbaugh, who led the team to a six-win turnaround and a playoff berth in his first season. Rookie running back Omarion Hampton, a first-round pick, carried twice for 9 yards. The Chargers recovered a fumble on the opening kickoff at the Lions 28 and converted the short field into a 7-0 lead. Lance made a perfect touch pass on fourth-and-2 to Will Dissly, who caught a 5-yard touchdown over a defender's outstretched hand. 'I feel good. Some good. Some bad. Left some plays out there,' Lance said. After undrafted rookie cornerback Nikko Reed stepped in front of Kyle Allen's sideline pass and returned it 60 yards to the Lions 6, Kimani Vidal ran in from the 2 to make it 14-0. Allen threw another pick on the next possession to Tony Jefferson after driving the Lions to the Chargers 23. Craig Reynolds' 3-yard TD run cut Detroit's deficit in half. But Lance fired a 19-yard pass to Tucker Fisk to the Lions 19 and connected with KeAndre Lambert-Smith on a 15-yard TD pass for a 21-7 halftime lead. Lance has started just five games in four NFL seasons after playing in only 19 games at North Dakota State. He spent just two seasons with the 49ers, who selected Brock Purdy with the last pick the same year they traded three first-round picks and a third-rounder to move up to get Lance. After two years with Dallas, Lance joined the Chargers to compete with veteran Taylor Heinicke for the backup job. He completed 13 of 20 passes before giving way to rookie DJ Uiagalelei. 'I'm excited to play,' Lance said. 'Every place is different. Every coaching staff is different. Every team is different. It's been fun to be here. I've really enjoyed being here, just the joy the guys around the building have. It's a joyful place to be.' Allen and Hendon Hooker are battling for the Lions' backup job behind Goff. Allen was 9 of 14 with two picks. Hooker, a third-round pick in 2023, has thrown nine passes in his first two seasons. He also tossed an interception against the Chargers. 'You get caught in needing to see some of these guys getting put out there and want them loose and also want to win and play well. We didn't do it,' Campbell said. Detroit's sloppy special teams turned it over again in the third quarter. Jakobie Keeney-James dropped a punt inside the 10 and the Chargers recovered at the 5. But Los Angeles had to settle for Cameron Dicker's 23-yard field goal. The Chargers capped the scoring on Vidal's 2-yard TD run late in the fourth quarter. Hutchinson's return Lions star edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson told NBC in the second half he can't wait for Week 1 against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field. Hutchinson had 7 1/2 sacks in five games last season before he went down with a leg injury. Before the game, Hutchinson spent time signing autographs for Lions fans who made the trip. Preseason rust Dicker, who was 39 of 42 on field goals last year and 9 of 11 from 50 yards or beyond, hit the left upright on a 50-yard try. He made his next two field goals. Gold jackets Cornerback Eric Allen, defensive end Jared Allen, tight end Antonio Gates and wide receiver Sterling Sharpe will be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday.
USA Today
28 minutes ago
- USA Today
Former Vols in Lions' backfield for Hall of Fame Game against Chargers
Los Angeles defeated Detroit, 34-7, Thursday in the 2025 Hall of Fame game at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio. Former Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker completed 3-of-6 passing attempts for 18 yards and one interception. He also recorded nine rushing yards on three rushing attempts. The former Vol was sacked two times. Hooker was selected by Detroit in the third round (No. 68 overall) of the 2023 NFL draft. He did not play for the Lions in 2023 due to injury. In 2024, Hooker appeared in three games and completed 6-of-9 passing attempts for 62 passing yards. He also rushed for two yards on five attempts. Hooker played for the Vols from 2021-22 under head coach Josh Heupel after transferring from Virginia Tech. Hooker completed 435-of-632 passing attempts for 6,080 yards, 58 touchdowns and five interceptions, while rushing for 1,046 yards and 10 touchdowns in 24 games at Tennessee. He was the SEC Player of the Year and a First-Team All-SEC standout in 2022. Former Tennessee running back Jabari Small also appeared in the Hall of Fame Game for the Lions. He totaled 35 rushing yards on 11 attempts. Small also totaled one reception for six yards. He played at Tennessee from 2020-23. More: Every Tennessee football player selected in 2025 NFL draft Follow Vols Wire on Facebook and X (formerly Twitter).
Hamilton Spectator
28 minutes ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Marv Levy looks forward to celebrate turning 100 at Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio
Marv Levy is realizing among the advantages of turning 100 is no longer having to fudge his age. 'Well, I'd prefer to be turning 25, to tell you the truth,' the Pro Football Hall of Fame coach said, with a laugh, his distinct booming voice resonating over the phone from his hometown of Chicago last week. Acknowledging his age is actually a switch for Levy. It wasn't until years after landing the Buffalo Bills head coaching job in 1986 when it was revealed how Levy shaved three years off his age out of fear NFL teams wouldn't hire a 61-year-old. 'But no, I'm very appreciative,' Levy said of his milestone birthday, which is on Sunday. 'I've been very fortunate with all the people I've associated with, including my dear wife Frannie and my daughter Kimberly.' And many of those associates — family, friends, former players, coaches and executives — will all be on hand in Canton, Ohio, on Friday, when the Hall of Fame hosts a party to celebrate Levy's 100th birthday. He'll be arriving in first class, with officials hiring what Levy called 'a special vehicle' to make the six-hour drive. 'I'm overwhelmingly complimented. It'll be fun to see so many of my former cohorts and enemies,' he said, laughing. Hall of Fame festivities The list is large, in part because there'll be plenty of Hall of Famers already there, as his birthday coincides with the annual induction festivities. This year's class features Antonio Gates, Jared Allen, Eric Allen, and Sterling Sharpe. Among those making the trip specifically for Levy include former players, staff, and Mary Wilson, the wife of late Bills Hall of Fame owner Ralph Wilson. 'How could you miss it? I love him so much,' Wilson said. 'What a gentlemen. He's so gracious and I admire him. I'm so happy he had this wonderful relationship with Ralph, and I'm just thrilled I can be there.' Levy's career dates to coaching football and basketball at Country Day School in St. Louis, Missouri, in the early 1950s, before moving on to the college ranks with stops at New Mexico, California and William & Mary. And while he moved on to the pros and won two Grey Cup titles with the CFL Montreal Alouettes in the 1970s, Levy's claim to greatness began with his arrival in Buffalo. Making his mark in Buffalo It was during his 12-year stint when Levy made a lasting impression for overseeing a star-studded Jim Kelly-led team to eight playoff appearances and four consecutive Super Bowl berths, all ending in losses . 'Fortitude and resilience. He preached that continually,' said Hall of Fame executive Bill Polian, the Bills GM who hired Levy. 'That message among the many that he delivered sunk in. His sense of humor and his eloquence just captured everybody from the day he walked into the meeting room.' Levy's more memorable messages included citing Winston Churchill by saying, 'When you're going through hell, keep on going.' And his most famous line, which became the title of his autobiography and a rallying cry for the Bills and their small-market fans was: 'Where else would you rather be than right here, right now.' Author, poet and avid history buff, Levy can lay claim to having seen plenty of history over the past century as someone who served in the Army Air Corps during World War II and had a front row seat in seeing the NFL become North America's dominant sports league. His first NFL break came as a 'kicking teams' coach with Philadelphia in 1969, and he spent five seasons as the Kansas City Chiefs head coach. After retiring in Buffalo following the 1997 season, he returned to the Bills for a two-year stint as GM in 2006, with Ralph Wilson referring to the then-octogenarians as 'the two golden boys,' and Levy calling himself 'an 80-year-old rookie.' Levy has outlived many of his contemporaries, from coach George Allen, whom he worked under in Washington, to AFC East rival Don Shula. He's among the few Cubs fans who can boast outlasting the team's World Series drought in attending their Game 7 loss in 1945, before celebrating their World Series return and title in 2016. The one thing missing is a Super Bowl title for his beloved Bills, who have returned to prominence under coach Sean McDermott and quarterback Josh Allen. Levy likes Buffalo's chances this season, and stays in touch with McDermott, a former William & Mary player. 'I'll take any advice he wants to give me. It's been huge,' McDermott said. 'It's one of the great honors of coaching the Buffalo Bills is to follow a coach like Marv Levy.' Campaigning for Tasker This will be Levy's first trip to Canton in two years, when at 98, he insisted on leading the seven-block Hall of Fame Walk. He was ready to make the walk back before being coaxed into a golf cart. And Levy has an agenda upon his return in resuming his campaign for former Bills special teams star Steve Tasker's induction. 'Marv's a hall of famer in every sense of the word. He's a hall of fame human being and a hall of fame coach,' Tasker said. 'And if his campaign to get me in the hall of fame keeps him alive, I hope I never get in.' Hall of Fame historian Joe Horrigan is from Buffalo and described Levy's era as uplifting for turning around a losing franchise and spurring a Rust Belt community struggling through an economic downturn. 'To see the legacy he has left just makes you feel good to be there,' Horrigan said of celebrating Levy's birthday. 'You know, there's no place I'd rather be than right there, right then.' Levy is humbled by the attention, grateful people are still interested in his story, and ended the phone call with a familiar farewell: 'Go Bills.' ___ AP NFL:
