NBA legend and former Orlando Magic star Dwight Howard will finally have his on-court legacy immortalized in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, and he is particularly grateful for the opportunity to share the moment with one of his long-running rivals in the industry, Shaquille O’Neal.
In a post on X, Dwight Howard expressed his excitement and his pride in the opportunity of sharing a historic moment with Shaquille O’Neal, his longest-running rival in the business. In his post, Howard implied the end of the feud between him and Shaq, and the start of the two figures making history together.
“History to be made 🙏🏾 Thank you Superman 🫡,” Howard wrote on X.
History to be made 🙏🏾 Thank you Superman 🫡 pic.twitter.com/t3WYKq4Am2
— Dwight Howard (@DwightHoward) August 18, 2025
For more than a decade, Howard and O’Neal have quietly bickered over who truly deserves the “Superman” nickname, a clash that began when Howard donned a cape at the 2008 NBA Dunk Contest and peaked in October 2012 when O’Neal staked his claim via pointed social-media barbs and on-air jabs.
Despite Howard’s insistence that the moniker sprang naturally from his aerial feats and community work, Shaq has repeatedly reminded fans that “there can only be one Superman,” even photoshop-dunking over Howard in 2016 to drive home his point.
Dwight Howard Beef With Shaq Seemingly Ends With “A Heart-to-Heart”
After spanning years and including multiple on-camera heated exchanges and even heated tirades through social media, the beef between NBA legends Dwight Howard and Shaquille O’Neal has finally ended, as Shaq himself has confirmed.
In an interview with FOX Sports, Shaq detailed how the years of going after each other and throwing words at each other with Howard finally ended in a peaceful manner.
“We finally had a heart-to-heart,” O’neal said. “The same thing I did with him, the same thing I did with Kobe (Bryant), (Dwyane) Wade, Penny Hardaway. That’s how I motivate young players to become great. I treat ’em like I don’t like ’em, and I try to get ’em upset because I know guys like Dwight and Penny and Kobe especially, and D-Wade. When you upset ’em, they play at a higher level.”
Shaq told me at this weekend’s @thebig3 event that he *will* be one of Dwight Howard’s presenters at Dwight’s Hall of Fame induction next month. Shaq is not currently on the @HoopHall’s official list, however he confirmed he’ll be up on stage alongside Howard and fellow… pic.twitter.com/lZQ120ZHW1
— Rachel Nichols (@Rachel__Nichols) August 18, 2025
With that, Shaq ended the long-running beef he had with Howard, confirming that they have “washed it out.”
“He thought I generally disliked him,” he added. “I told him, ‘No, that’s not the case.’ As a leader, sometimes you have to find different ways of motivating youngsters.”
Dwight Howard burst onto the NBA scene as a generational big man, earning eight All-Star nods, three consecutive Defensive Player of the Year awards, and five rebounding titles while steering the Orlando Magic to the 2009 NBA Finals. Known as “Superman” for his explosive dunks and towering rim protection, he finished his career with over 14,000 rebounds and 2,200 blocks.
For more sports content:
Follow us @HardwoodHeroics for your NBA and college basketball reading fix. You can reach out to Dan Agulto through email at papadanph@gmail.com. To read more of our articles and keep up to date on the latest sports news, click here!
Dan has been active in sports since 2016 and has worked behind the scenes as a scriptwriter for basketball, volleyball, and other sports. At a time, Dan has also been working as a sports commentator for CBA Pilipinas. During the pandemic, he has also been actively writing betting articles for CashBet and BetNow.
