Shaquille O’Neal has been a very frequent critic of free agent center Dwight Howard.
For whatever reason, the pair has never been able to get on the same page, and that has manifested itself in O’Neal constantly taking little jabs at Howard.
This week, Howard sat down with Etan Thomas and admitted he had no idea why O’Neal had so many issues with him.
“I just realized that you can’t please everybody,” he said.
“Everybody’s not gonna be happy with you or what you’ve done with your life. And the way that you kill them is with kindness. Instead of going back and forth with them, just stay locked in.
“If I had anything negative to say about him I won’t ever say that in the public eye or say that where people can hear it. Because I don’t think it’s necessary. He has family. He has kids. He has people who love him. I just wasn’t brought up that way.”
Howard also took a moment during the interview to recognize O’Neal for being “probably the most dominant player to ever play the game.”
Although the origin of O’Neal’s feud with Howard is unclear, the pair’s rivalry wrote its most recent chapter after the Lakers won their 17th championship a few weeks back.
In the midst of celebrating the title, Howard gave a now-viral speech.
“Everybody out there, don’t ever give up on your dreams,” Howard said at the time. “You can f–king do it, I swear! Just keep fighting.”
That earned a reaction from O’Neal.
The perks of being a Laker. https://t.co/yt6hWFrxXi
— Game 7 (@game7__) November 17, 2020
“You know what I don’t like as a player though?” he asked on his podcast shortly thereafter.
“There’s a lot of players on their little Instagram bragging like they were the reason they got the championship. I ain’t going to say no names. Sit your ass down, you didn’t do nothing.
“Stop it. … Stop it, front-runner. Bandwagon jumper. Stop it. Don’t be talking to me like you know, player. Sit your ass down, stop it. Post one pic and sit your ass down. … You ain’t do nothing.”
Paige Spiranac kept it very real. https://t.co/I4ZnqikeDM
— Game 7 (@game7__) November 17, 2020
It didn’t take people long to figure out who O’Neal was talking about, since he has regularly taken issue with Howard in the past.
“If you’re a role player, don’t be on the Instagram like you’re a star,” O’Neal added.
Some people have taken offense to O’Neal’s constant shots at Howard and taken to calling him a “hater,” prompting him to respond to his critics this past week.
Vanessa Bryant kept it real. https://t.co/0QXhwdBf6w
— Game 7 (@game7__) November 16, 2020
“You can only hate if you haven’t achieved,” he said on The Big Podcast with Shaq.
“I’ve been there and done that, I’m still the Lord supreme of all big men. I’m the last big man to get an MVP in this league, so I’m still in charge. When another big man gets an MVP, I will resign gracefully.”
For now, Howard seems set on taking the high road in his feud with O’Neal. How long will he continue on that path? Time will tell.
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A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
