When Dwight Howard stepped on stage for his Corridor of Fame enshrinement, he wasted no time addressing a well-known title: Shaquille O’Neal.
The 2 shared one of many NBA’s longest-running and pettiest feuds, however Howard made it clear the rivalry is formally over.
“Shaq, we didn’t at all times see eye to eye, however in hindsight, I consider it was simply sibling rivalries,” Howard stated throughout his speech. “We’re brothers on this fraternity of basketball, and generally brothers combat over the stupidest stuff. I actually blame Soulja Boy. However I simply need y’all to know the true, authentic Superman is within the constructing, and it’s an honor to have you ever stroll me out on this area of greatness.”
The feud stretched again to the 2008 Slam Dunk Contest, when Howard wore a cape with the Superman brand. O’Neal, the self-proclaimed “authentic Superman,” believed Howard was making an attempt to steal his nickname.
The back-and-forth turned ugly over time, with Shaq calling Howard a “bus rider” throughout the Lakers’ 2020 championship run, mocking his stint in Taiwan, and even suggesting he didn’t need to be within the Corridor of Fame.
Howard fired again by branding Shaq the “pretend Superman” and at one level even difficult him to a boxing match.
However O’Neal, who introduced Howard on the ceremony, insisted the animosity was by no means actual.
“It wasn’t that we had an issue,” O’Neal instructed NBA TV’s Dennis Scott. “You understand my management fashion, I realized it from you. I’m exhausting on guys to inspire them. Some individuals can take it, some individuals can’t. However after we met I instructed him it’s by no means exhausting emotions, I simply did that to make him offended. Each time I made him offended he performed effectively.”
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