Shaquille O’Neal is, by all means, one of the greatest players in NBA history.
Injuries and his work ethic stood in his way to becoming perhaps the best ever, but there’s just no way to take anything away from him.
However, as big as he is — both literally and figuratively — his ego is even bigger.
That’s why he’s never stopped taking shots at Dwight Howard.
Howard, like him, was a big man taken with the No. 1 pick by the Orlando Magic.
Like him, he led them to the NBA Finals and failed to win a championship before eventually playing with Kobe Bryant in the Los Angeles Lakers.
And like him, he was also given the Superman moniker.
Shaq has always resented that.
As a matter of fact, Howard recently revealed that the legendary big man reached out to him with some disrespectful and personal comments that he wouldn’t even repeat in public (via DH12 Above The Rim).
Dwight Howard on Shaq:
“He said some things to me that were personal, you know, messages to me that I ain’t going to reveal in public. They were very disrespectful.”
(via @DH12abovetherim) pic.twitter.com/enxof5NK5W
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) September 28, 2024
Howard may not have reached Shaq’s status in the league, but he was no scrub.
He was, by all metrics, the most dominant big man in the league in his prime.
It never had to be one or the other, and it would’ve been nice if Shaq had actually embraced him.
Even if that wasn’t the case, there was no need to drag him down just to try and lift himself up.
Shaq can look down on most NBA players in history, but that doesn’t mean he’s got the right to get in their business.
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