The Los Angeles Lakers franchise is known for having dominant big men with Shaquille O’Neal and Dwight Howard being prime examples. Unfortunately, those two have had a checkered past with O’Neal always being really hard on Howard when he was in his prime.
Howard followed in O’Neal’s footsteps by joining the Lakers, ultimately having three separate stints with the team and winning a championship in 2020. Although he was more towards the latter stages of his career during his Lakers stints, the three-time Defensive Player of the Year remained a physical player and rebounder.
Back-to-the-basket centers are expected to impose their will on opponents though and O’Neal wanted to see that out of Howard. Luckily, the two have no buried the hatchet and O’Neal explained to Howard why he was always so hard on him when the latter went on The Big Podcast:
Shaq on getting Dwight to play at a high level:
“I wanted to get you so f*****g mad and so angry to where you hate me.”
DWIGHT X BIG POD EPISODE IS LIVE NOW: https://t.co/eka4XjRWVS pic.twitter.com/KumXbcKlC0
— The Big Podcast (@bigpodwithshaq) April 24, 2025
First and foremost, it is great to see these two greats be able to put aside their differences and have conversations face-to-face. O’Neal and Howard are two of the most dominant centers and will forever be linked for their dominance early in the 21st century.
There are always double standards in NBA discourse with some players being treated harsher than others. Howard experienced that during his initial departure from L.A. in 2013 and ultimately righted those wrongs with a title.
O’Neal is widely regarded as the most dominant center ever and played with an emerging Kobe Bryant and a championship head coach in Phil Jackson in L.A. Howard always looked up to Shaq and it was easy to see how hard he took the criticism over the years, which makes this conversation essentially like a weight lifted off his shoulders.
Shaquille O’Neal agrees to walk Dwight Howard out at Hall of Fame ceremony
It is great to see two Lakers legends be able to squash their beef after years of disagreements. With Dwight Howard making the Basketball Hall of Fame as part of the 2025 class, he asked for Shaquille O’Neal to walk him out at the ceremony later this year.
Now that both parties are on speaking terms, O’Neal responded to Howard’s request by agreeing to be there for him on his special day.
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