The longstanding beef between Shaquille O’Neal and Dwight Howard seems to be over. Howard was announced as one of the inductees for the 2025 Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, and now that he has his G14 classification, Howard allegedly wants Shaq to be amongst the all-time legends to walk him out for his acceptance speech.
On the “Big Pod With Shaq” O’Neal and his co-host Adam Lefkoe run through the names of the lauded 2025 class.
Carmelo Anthony, Sue Bird, Billy Donovan, Sylvia Fowles…” Oh LSU, Yes!” Shaq interjected. Maya Moore, 2008 US Olympic Men’s Basketball Team AKA “The Redeem Team”, and Dwight Howard.
Shaq Accepts Longtime Nemesis Dwight Howard’s Request To Walk Him Out For HOF Induction
“That’s awesome,” said Shaq who has had a lengthy war of words with Howard dating back almost 20 years when in 2008 Howard hijacked Shaq’s Superman moniker, dressed up like the caped crusader and won the 2008 Slam Dunk contest.
In a surprising turn of events, Howard tweeted out that he wants to be walked out for his HOF ceremony by
“I want Kevin Garnett, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Shaq to walk me out.”
Shaq interestingly responded, “I’ll do it. I’ll be there. That’s my guy,” Shaq said.
An amazing turn of events to say the least, but a fitting way to put to bed a beef that has gone on too long between the last two great post centers to play in the NBA.
The history between the two was contentious even as recently as February, Howard offered Shaq a fade after some disrespectful exchanges on social media.
Howard tried to reach out and reconcile the situation in the past, but Shaq never reciprocated the desire, often reminding Howard of how insignificant he really is in Shaq’s world.
Back in November of 2024, Howard who was riding high off his “Dancing With The Stars” offered to bury the hatchet with Shaq with a celebrity boxing match.
Shaq scoffed at the idea and continued to throw barbs at Howard via X.
Howard, who recently got engaged to rapper Amy Luciani and inducted into the Orlando Magic Hall of Fame was fed up with Shaq to the point that he said he was willing to meet up and have a real fight to settle this man to man, because in Howard’s opinion it’s gone too far.
RELATED: Shaq And Dwight Howard Resume Their War Of Words
Dwight Howard Offered To Fight Shaq
Howard says he was ready to throw hands for real at this point.
“Every conversation and every time I hear or see something about you it’s you disrespecting me on some kind of level. … ’Cause at this point it’s like, do we need to throw hands?” Howard asked Shaq via the podcast.
“Again…he keeps saying stuff about me. So it’s like ‘yo, bro, do we need to get in there and squabble?’”
“I’m finna roll up to the studio or wherever he is and say, ‘Hey, yo, bro, what’s the deal?” Howard threatened. “It’s not a fearful thing or anything, we past basketball, you’re not in the NBA, you did your time, and I did my time and we still going along with pettiness, and at what point does it stop?”
”If we got to fight it out then let’s fight it out,” he added.
Dwight Howard Explains Why He Wanted To Fight Shaq
The Orlando Magic’s all-time leader in points, rebounds per game, free throws and plenty of other categories appeared on The Gaud Show podcast to speak his peace.
“And that was the thing I hated the most was the fact that he always thought I was trying to be him or be like him,” Howard said.
Then, of course, Howard complained that his jersey should have been retired before Shaq’s by Orlando, because he had a bigger impact on the franchise and played there longer.
“Then again,” said Howard, “if I wanted to be you or be like you, shouldn’t you take that as a compliment and to show how great you are as a player and person?”
“I never wanted to be Shaq on any level. Now did I want to take certain things from his life and implement it in my life? … Hell, yeah, I do that with Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, LeBron James – because they have certain things that I can use to be better.”
Howard continued: “Magic Johnson’s smile has gotten him all this stuff so let me smile. Shaq is 7-2, 7-3 a big o’ … that’s him. … I never disrespected him, but he always got something to say.”
Shaq vs Dwight Howard: The Final Showdown
In what will go down as the final round in what we can now call a draw between these two characters of the game went at it one last time the classic X exchange on Dec. 7, 2024
”@DwightHoward the fact u think I care about u is funny, but I won’t ever bring your name up again sensitive big man, a jokester that can’t take a joke. We won’t ever say your name ever again. Have a great day and now you have been deleted. Have a great day. #nevercared #trustme”
Howard responded: “I know you care. Cuz yo insecure ass been hating and talking sh*t for 20 years. You too big to be this insecure. I hope you don’t bring my name up again. 52 years old tweeting at me. And still hating. Now all this time you was joking. You always been jealous. Jealous of Kobe., penny, dwade. You jealous of Charles too. Go move around big lazy insecure ass. I still have that long 5 paragraph direct message you sent me a couple years ago telling me that I’m not that great to hate. And you still doing it. It’s 2025 grow the hell up, and move on”
Now all of a sudden all of that beef is over. Shaq says Howard is in fact “my guy” and Shaq will be walking Howard out during his Hall of Fame induction which is the perfect ending.
