Dwight Howard left the NBA to play in Taiwan. That didn’t stop Shaquille O’Neal from going at him.
Howard signed with the Taoyuan Leopards of the Taiwanese T1 League, and while he had a monster debut for the squad, the team has struggled. The Leopards are in last place with a 3-11 record. Howard is averaging 24 points and 14.1 rebounds, but even alongside former Memphis Grizzly Deyonta Davis, the team isn’t winning.
O’Neal mocked him on The Big Podcast, his YouTube show. “Somebody sent me that they have a losing record. I ain’t losing to anybody in Taiwan, I’ll tell you that,” O’Neal said. “How do you have a losing record in Taiwan?”
It’s not the first time O’Neal has criticized Howard, who followed in his footsteps by playing for the Orlando Magic and jumping to the Los Angeles Lakers. It’s hard to believe that this is the foundation for a long beef, but it seems to have started because Dwight Howard started using the “Superman” nickname.
O’Neal thought he’d staked a claim to the moniker – he even has a Superman tattoo on his arm – but Howard adopted it as his own. He even did it for the Slam Dunk Contest in 2008.
Ever since then, O’Neal hasn’t hesitated to go after Howard for any reason. For not dominating enough in the post, for not respecting O’Neal enough and for only winning a dunk contest. O’Neal’s “Inside The NBA” counterparts, Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley, regularly tweak O’Neal by calling Howard “Superman,” which is perhaps why the feud has gone on for years.
For his part, Howard claims to be confused by all the hostility. He responded to O’Neal on Instagram Live, saying O’Neal was “disrespectful” of the Taiwan league.
“First thing I want to say is, you gotta stop hating brother. You gotta stop hating! I have never in my life came at you about your basketball career, your family, your kids, anything of the sort,” Howard said, before acknowledging that he had made fun of Shaq and mimicked his voice.
That might not have affected O’Neal, but the conclusion to his statement likely did. “You too big to be hating. You suppose to be Superman, the original Superman. Shaquille O’Neal. The original Superman is hating? The OG Superman is hating?” Howard asked.
If Howard wanted O’Neal to leave him alone, he shouldn’t have brought up Superman. Now O’Neal will be scouring the Taiwanese box score and highlight reels for ammunition to continue “hating.” The Taiwanese basketball league has never been featured on “Shaqtin’ a Fool” before, but if Howard has a blooper, you know Shaq will make sure TNT’s audience sees it now.
