Shaquille O'Neal says he got scolded by his mom for poking Dwight: "Mr Dwight Howard, I owe you apology and I will never hurt your feelings again"
Shaquille O'Neal and Dwight Howard's feud is well known.
O'Neal and Howard have had similar NBA careers up to a point, and the feud sparked when Howard wore a Superman costume during the 2008 dunk contest at the All-Star weekend. It marked one of the only years in Shaq's career when he wasn't selected as an All-Star.
The idea that Howard was "Superman," something that O'Neal claimed, was infuriating to Big Diesel. Since then, O'Neal has heavily criticized and downplayed Howard's achievements and the narratives around his career.
Howard has already stated how disrespected he felt after being left off the 75th Anniversary team. And after O'Neal once again commented on Howard's play in Taiwan, Howard responded on his Instagram account:
"This message is for Shaquille O'Neal. 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.
"Because there is no need to. The world is too big to hate on another man. … Have I joked about, I've mimicked your voice, have I mimicked what I see on TV? Everybody do that. Comedians do that. People do that all the time. And I do it all the time, I do that to everybody. But I do not hate on people." (via) CBS
In the latest episode of TNT's "The Big Podcast with Shaquille O'Neal," O'Neal said that he was scolded by his mother for poking Howard:
"Mr. Dwight Howard, I owe you apology and I will never hurt your feelings again."
Shaquille O'Neal's feud with Howard might be gimmicky, but his feud with Kobe Bryant likely cost him several championships
Perhaps the most notable among Shaquille O'Neal's feuds was that with Kobe Bryant. Many people maintained that had Shaq and Kobe not split up, they would have won several more championships together.
In 2003, O'Neal and Bryant went back and forth about whose team it was. And after Karl Malone and Gary Payton were traded to LA, O'Neal made it fairly clear that they were there because of "one guy."
Bryant hit back by questioning O'Neal's leadership and that he came to training camp out of shape and blamed his injuries and others for losses.
Bryant was criticized by O'Neal for playing selfish basketball, and by 2004, Phil Jackson, Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal were all at loggerheads. Jackson had expressed his view that he might not return to LA if Kobe did.
Jackson's expired contract was not renewed, and following his departure, O'Neal asked to be traded away from the team and was off to Miami. The feud eventually de-escalated towards the end of the decade and remained as such after their playing careers.