Dwight Howard and Shaquille O’Neal are kicking off 2025 by reigniting their long-standing beef!
The former NBA stars’ feud dates back years and, based on the duo’s recent heated back-and-forth, they won’t be mending fences anytime soon. During an appearance on The GAUDS Show hosted by Ray Daniels, Howard was asked about his tense relationship with O’Neal.
“Never disrespected him. 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],” Howard said.
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
The recently engaged athlete, 39, revealed that while he was competing on Dancing with the Stars last year he attempted to end the feud with O’Neal — but it didn’t happen, leaving Howard to wonder if they should just fight it out.
“At this point, I’m like, do we need to throw hands?” Howard recalled. “What are we doing?”
As expected, once O’Neal got wind of Howard’s comments he fired back — slamming him in a post on X.
“@DwightHoward the fact u think I care about u is funny, but I won’t ever bring your name up again sensitive big man, a jokester that can’t take a joke. Won’t ever say your name again ever again. Have a great day and now u have been deleted. Have a great day,” O’Neal wrote alongside a slew of hashtags including “#inevercared #thefactyouthinkicareisfunny and #nowyouredeadtome.”
All of which prompted Howard to post his own fiery digs on X.
“I know you care. Cuz yo insecure a– been hating and talking s— for 20 years. You too big to be this insecure,” Howard’s post began. “I hope you don’t bring my name up again. 52 years old tweeting me. And still hating. Now all this time you was joking.”
Howard continued, “You always been jealous. Jealous of Kobe, Penny (Hardaway), [D-Wade]. You jealous of Charles (Barkley) too. Go move around big lazy insecure a–. I still have that long 5 Paragraph direct message you sent me a couple years ago telling me that I’m not that great to hate. And you still doing it. It’s 2025 grow the hell up. and move on.”
According to CBS Sports, the source of the big men’s discord dates back to the days when O’Neal, who retired from the NBA in 2011, was still playing and Howard used the Superman nickname that O’Neal had coined.
Both former Los Angeles Lakers stars, O’Neal won three consecutive NBA championships with the team in 2000, 2001 and 2002 — while Howard won a championship in the COVID bubble in 2020.
Leave a Reply