Shaq Says He Was Ultra Critical Of Dwight Howard Because ‘I Used To Love Dwight’

The relationship between Shaquille O’Neal and Dwight Howard has been, to put it charitably, frosty. For years, there’s always seemed to be bad blood between the two, as Howard (like Shaq) got drafted No. 1 overall to the Orlando Magic and had the nickname “Superman.” Even as recently as last year, Shaq got jokes off at Howard’s expense over the fact that he kept his basketball career going by playing in Taiwan’s top league on a team that had a losing record.

As it turns out, Shaq claims he didn’t always view Howard in a negative light. The Hall of Fame inductee appeared on Trae Young’s podcast and explained that, early on, he rode Howard because he “used to love” him.

“If I mention your name, it means I love you and respect you,” Shaq said. “Like, I used to love Dwight. He did something I couldn’t do. I wish I could jump that high. I love Dwight Howard — a lot of people don’t know that this is my first time saying that. But as a big brother, I ain’t gonna let my little brother slide. Cause I want you to be better than me. A lot of people don’t understand this thing of ours, they think it’s just hate. No, it ain’t hate, I’m telling you how to get here.

“You know I’m here, dawg, I’m telling you how to get here,” he continued. “If you don’t want to get here … and that’s why I kinda had to lay off of him a little bit.”

Shaq’s comments come on the heels of Howard saying the he believes he should have been the first player in Magic history to get their number retired.