There was a time when Dwight Howard was looked at as the next Shaquille O’Neal since both were dominant forces with unreal physical attributes but the comparison also brought about some uneasy feelings.
Howard attempting to call himself ‘Superman’ and his failed original stint with the Los Angeles Lakers has only led to more back-and-forth between the two with O’Neal oftentimes criticizing him.
Even in retirement, the tension hasn’t really stopped as Howard’s career had begun to spiral down. Now, after being on five different teams over the last three seasons, Howard has a chance to resuscitate his career in a second stint with the Lakers. However, O’Neal couldn’t care less.
O’Neal was approached by TMZ Sports at the Papa John’s Block Party where he was helping to feed kids. When asked about the Lakers signing Howard, O’Neal couldn’t help but to take one more shot at his rival:
This obviously was no mistake as O’Neal has never had any issues holding grudges and taking shots at people he doesn’t care for. He has yet to let up on Howard, who while still having an excellent career overall, never truly reached the level many expected him to — especially on the offensive end.
When Howard first came to the Lakers, he was expected to be the next great big man on the team’s pantheon of dominant centers. Many saw his jersey being in the rafters next to the likes of O’Neal, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Wilt Chamberlain, but now he’s returning on a non-guaranteed deal.
In the end, O’Neal is being extremely petty as he tends to do from time to time. It wasn’t the first time and it won’t be the last, but if Howard can be a major contributor for this Lakers team, he will definitely remind O’Neal of exactly who he is.