Dwight Howard on Shaq: 'Do We Need to Throw Hands?'

Shaquille O’Neal and Dwight Howard have exchanged words following the latter’s hands-throwing inquiry in a recent podcast interview.

As you may have seen on social media in recent days, Howard was a guest on Ray Daniels’ The GAUDs Show, with the topic of Shaq being broached during the extensive conversation. According to Howard, he’s “never wanted to be Shaq on any level,” though he has incorporated elements of his work and persona into his own. Per Howard, however, he’s done this with multiple NBA stars.

“Never disrespected him,” Howard said of Shaq, who last November turned down Howard’s boxing proposal. “But he’s always had something to say. There’s times where I’ve gotten upset and I’m like, 'Yo, Shaq, this gotta stop, man.' I tried to [talk to him].”

While working on Dancing With the Stars, Howard says he connected with someone who was close with Shaq at the time, prompting him to try and arrange a sit-down.

“At this point, I’m like, do we need to throw hands? What are we doing?” Howard said.

This has since spilled over into back-to-back X updates, starting with one from Shaq, who told fans that he found humor in the situation.

“The fact u think I care about u is funny,” he wrote, adding that he “won’t ever bring your name up again” and referring to Howard as both a “sensitive big man” and “a jokester that can’t take a joke.”

In response, Howard pushed back, calling Shaq “insecure” and arguing that he’s been “talking shit” for two decades.

“I hope you don’t bring my name up again,” Howard added. “52 years old tweeting me. And still hating. … You always been jealous.”

Both Howard and O’Neal, of course, have history with the Lakers. When speaking about his career in a 2023 interview with Zion Olojede for Complex, Howard named himself as being among the top 10 “all-time centers” in the league. Howard also included Shaq in this same group.