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Dwight Howard sets the record straight on Shaquille O’Neal beef

Originally posted on ClutchPoints | By Peter Sampson | Last updated 5/7/24

Former Orlando Magic centers Dwight Howard and Shaquille O’Neal have had beef for year.

The feud between O’Neal and Howard started when Dwight, representing the Magic, put on a Superman costume in the 2008 dunk contest — which Shaq viewed as stealing his persona — and it’s only gotten more ridiculous sense then.

Howard has repeatedly said that he has no issues with O’Neal, and recently – appearing on the OG’s Podcast with Udonis Haslem and Mike Miller – said that he has tried to squash the beef multiple times:

“There hasn’t been a time where Shaq has just reached out like that. I’ve reached out to Shaq myself on multiple occasions because I’m like ‘what’s the issue?’ Like, I understand the competitive side, but we don’t even compete against each other and it’s like two different two different stratospheres. Like, he played, he did his thing, nobody’s ever taken that away and I did my thing. I have reached out to him, and I would like for us to have some type of, you know, relationship.

Life is too short and for us to be who we are, there’s no way we shouldn’t be able to work together in any capacity.”

Howard recently reached out on social media to attempt to put an end to things, but O’Neal rebuffed him:

nope lol

— SHAQ (@SHAQ) January 20, 2024

One thing Shaq has consistently harped on over the years is that Howard had never won a ring, though he took the Magic to the NBA Finals in 2009. That complaint is no more after Howard was a key bench piece for the team that won the 2020 NBA Finals.

As the Lakers were celebrating their championship in the locker room, Howard went live on Instagram and gave an emotional message in the immediate aftermath.

On The Big Podcast With Shaq, O’Neal blasted Howard by calling him a “front-runner” and “bandwagon jumper” and suggested he didn’t have anything to do with the Lakers’ title.

Hopefully, the two Orlando Magic legends can work things out.

Dwight Howard took Magic to Finals in 2009

Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard (12) high fives guard Jameer Nelson (14) during overtime in game four of the eastern conference finals in the 2010 NBA playoffs against the Boston Celtics at TD Garden. The Magic won 96-92. © David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

Howard and the Magic had a strong run in the aftermath of the Boston Celtics championship. in 2008-09, Orlando won 59 games and managed to top Boston in seven games in the second round of the NBA Playoffs. Ultimately, Orlando reached the NBA Finals, where they were outmatched by Kobe Bryant and the Lakers 4-1.

Howard was dominant that season, playing in 79 games for the Magic and averaging 20.6 points, 13.8 rebounds, and 2.9 blocked shots while shooting 57 percent from the floor.

That season Howard was an NBA All-Star, a member of the All-NBA First Team, and took home the first of three consecutive Defensive Player of the Year awards. He finished fourth in MVP voting.

This article first appeared on ClutchPoints and was syndicated with permission.

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