Shaquille O’Neal clearly took a hilarious shot at Dwight Howard during his retirement press conference when he handed out shirts emblazoned with the words “The Real Superman” to Orlando Pistons fans. Many kids and avid fans flaunt a ‘Superman’ look, right? So, there shouldn’t be anything wrong with Dwight Howard sporting one. Only, that that wasn’t the case. But after the Lakers legend expressed his disapproval, the Orlando Magic icon gave him a wake-up call.

In a conversation with Swaggy P on the ‘Above the Rim with DH12′ podcast, Howard was asked why he didn’t seek O’Neal’s permission before wearing the ‘Superman’ cape publicly at the 2008 Slam Dunk Contest. The Atlanta-born responded by questioning why he should ask Shaq for permission to wear a ‘Superman’ cape when it’s the Warner Brothers that owns the rights to it. He further argued that no one and definitely not O’Neal, owns the right to it. Hence, he wore it just because he wanted to.

“Why do I have to ask him, not Warner Brothers? (Warner Bros. Discovery) Warner Brothers they own the f*****g rights to damn Superman, not Shaq. Why I got to ask somebody to wear a goddamn cape and a suit to do the dunk contest man?,” Howard asked on the show. 

While both the Magic icons are known for popularizing the Superman persona, the 4X NBA champion wanted to be the sole Superman of the NBA world. After Howard wore the cape to the Slam Dunk Contest, everyone called him the “Superman.” 

However, the Lakers felt that this was more like stealing O’Neal’s personality and were quite upset about it. O’Neal even criticized the 8x NBA All-Star for not having a championship to his name. But, of course, that changed in 2020.

Shaquille O’Neal isn’t interested in changing his mind

The 5x NBA rebounding leader was crucial in leading the Los Angeles Lakers to a championship victory that year. However, that didn’t impress O’Neal at all. He claimed that Howard had nothing to do with the Lakers’ win and was merely a “bandwagon jumper.”

But the former Orlando Magic star Howard must be credited for one thing. He has always tried to reach out to the NBA legend to melt any grudge between them. But the 7-footer has consistently refused. Even in response to Howard’s tweet stating, “I never had a problem with you so can we finally end this as adults,” to make amends, O’Neal replied with just two words “Nope lol.”

There doesn’t seem to be anything wrong with either O’Neal or Howard and even if there were, Howard has made enough attempts to reconcile. The matter and the beef between them do seem to have gone on long enough. But it will be interesting to see if Shaq comes up with another response for the 2020 NBA Champ.

Stay tuned for more such updates and join us for the exciting second episode of the “Dual Threat Show” as our host BG12 sits down with Georgia Bulldogs star and Mountain West All-Freshman Team Selection, Asia Avinger.