SUMMARY
- Shaquille O'Neal claims that his beef with Dwight Howard was an attempt to motivate him.
- NBA fans do not agree with Shaq and believe that O'Neal feared Howard dampening his legacy.
Shaquille O’Neal recently discussed his conflict with Dwight Howard and shared his own perspective on the issue. As most NBA fans will know, Shaq is a former NBA star and is considered to be the most dominant player in the history of the NBA. Even after his retirement from the league, Shaq has remained involved with the NBA and has become a member of the media.
During a podcast with JJ Reddick, O’Neal was questioned about his relationship with Dwight Howard and his reasoning for taking shots at Howard from his position as a sports analyst. While Shaq put up a clear defense and explained his actions, basketball fans are not completely buying into it. With that being said, fans may want to take a closer look and find out more on this subject.
Fans believe that Shaquille O’Neal considered Dwight Howard as a threat to his legacy
Whether Shaq wants to admit it or not, both he and Dwight Howard have quite a few similarities. They were both drafted into the NBA by the Orlando Magic. O’Neal and Howard both claimed the title of ‘Superman’ and wished to establish themselves as the best centers in the league. In their prime, it was almost impossible to stop either of them.
As a result, fans believe that Shaq looked to protect his own legacy by taunting Dwight Howard, “Cap, Shaq was 100 % serious when calling out Dwight over the years. He saw Dwight as a threat for many years, that’s my opinion at least.” Since Shaq won more championships and had other accolades when compared to Dwight, there was really no reason for him to take any shots at Howard.
Shaquille O’Neal claims that he was trying to motivate Dwight Howard
During a recent podcast with JJ Reddick, Shaq justified his actions in the past under the claim that all of it was done in order to motivate Dwight Howard into becoming even better.
“I actually like Dwight. I am the current president of the Big Man Alliance. I like big men who have the opportunity to overthrow me and sometimes I will add fuel to the fire to see what type of people they are. If I say something and you respond sensitively, that shows me you don’t have it, and a lot of times I just be playing. So am I serious when I talk about these guys? No, it’s fun. I’m a fun guy.”
One must certainly wonder what more Shaq believes he should have said about Dwight if he truly was serious. In any case, the members of the basketball community are not completely accepting Shaq’s side of the story wholeheartedly.