Shaquille O’Neal Helping Dwight Howard’s Son Achieve What His Kids Failed At, as Details of Secret Meeting Emerge

There’s always been something poetic about the game of basketball — how rivalries brew, legacies are passed down, and the game keeps moving forward even when giants leave the floor. But the “Superman” saga? That one’s personal. And now, somehow, it’s come full circle, with Dwight Howard and Shaquille O’Neal, once feuding over a moniker, now quietly shaping the next one to wear the cape, Dwight Howard III.

In a recent interview, Dwight Howard was asked a simple, open-ended question. “Do you think there will ever be another Superman in the NBA?” He grinned. “Yeah, Kurt Rambis was the first Superman. Y’all don’t remember. Then it was Shaq. Then it was Dwight. Now we gotta have a new one.” For fans of the Showtime Lakers, Rambis was a cult figure. The horn-rimmed glasses, reckless abandon, clothesline from Kevin McHale. Rambis didn’t fly, but he crashed through the paint like a man trying to break gravity. He was never nicknamed Superman, officially, but he played with a grit that made him feel invincible, a working-class Clark Kent who never needed a cape.

And when asked who that next Superman might be, Howard didn’t hesitate. “Dwight Howard the Third. He’s in middle school. Me and Shaq are training him right now. Shaq is training over free throws, and I was working on his weights. So by the time he gets to the league, he gon’ be ready.” Dwight “Trey” Howard III is 12, and the nickname “D12” has already been passed down symbolically and loaded. For Dwight, it’s a legacy. The original D12 turned Orlando into a contender, carried the Magic to the 2009 NBA Finals, and wore No. 12 with a purpose. The surprising twist in this Superman saga? Shaquille O’Neal is now in the lab with Dwight’s son.

For years, Shaquille O’Neal has made it clear that he doesn’t want his kids to chase his shadow on the basketball court. The message is consistent. “We don’t need another basketball player. At all.” Shaq has six children, many of whom dabbled in basketball. Shareef played at UCLA and LSU. Me’arah committed to LSU before transferring. But none have yet made it to the NBA. Not for lack of talent, but perhaps by choice, or design. Shaq has talked often about sacrifice.

His military stepfather, Sgt. Phillip Harrison instilled that in him early. Shaq took that to the NBA, turned $120 million in salary into a $400 million empire, and doesn’t want his kids chasing stats when they could build empires of their own. Shaq has always pushed them toward medicine, law, or innovation, not the hardwood. “In order to touch daddy’s cheese, you got to show me two or three degrees.”

That makes his mentorship of Trey Howard stand out. The same man who resisted turning his kids into athletes is now coaching another man’s son. Because something in Trey clearly shifted his mindset. Maybe because this one doesn’t feel like a shadow-chaser. Trey Howard is earning the nickname “D12.” 

Dwight’s been vocal about training his kids, even if it draws heat. Back in 2023, he was criticized for pushing his 9-year-old son, David, through a grueling bike session, Howard refusing to let up. “You can!” he said again and again. Some called it too much. Dwight called it love.

He’s been there before. “Just got finished coaching my son and his basketball team down here in Georgia,” he said on Podcast P. “They’re only 11 years old, so just giving them an opportunity to play the game, learn the game at a very high level. It’s been amazing.” Even Trey’s older brother Braylon posted a dunk on IG with the caption, “Ion need not of y’all saying Mini Dwight.” That sparked comments, given the past tension between Dwight and Braylon’s mother, Royce Reed. Their relationship has seen public strain. But Dwight keeps pushing, flawed, but present.

Trey has got his dad’s name and now his number. And if he makes it to the league, it’ll be Superman reborn, built by two of the most polarizing big men in league history. The cape’s already been stitched. Now we wait to see if the kid can fly.

Shaq & Dwight: a partnership forged in peace (lately)

Dwight Howard and Shaquille O’Neal have spent more than a decade as basketball’s coldest rivals. It started with a nickname, “Superman,” and spiraled into pettiness and media jabs. But all of that changed earlier this year, not on a podcast or press conference, but in a place you wouldn’t expect — a hookah lounge. “When I got inducted into the Magic Hall of Fame, I end up seeing Shaq at a hookah lounge,” Howard recalled. “I just ran into Shaq out of nowhere. And I’m like, this is crazy. So I’m like, ‘Man, I’m gonna go talk to him.’”

What followed was a conversation, and the years of tension started to dissolve. “We get a little room, we sit down… and it got better from there,” Howard said. The so-called beef had lived long enough. Both men were finally ready to move forward, together. “There’s room enough in this world for two Supermen. I’m just grateful that he’s going to be walking me out [at the Hall of Fame]. It’s a big honor.” Dwight added. And that wasn’t just talk.

Shaq showed up on NBA TV, floral blazer and all, and gave Dwight his long-overdue props. The flowers were literal and symbolic. Shaq told Dennis Scott it was never personal. He called it motivation. Tough love, the kind Shaq says worked for him. He pushed Dwight because he saw the potential, and he knew anger lit a fire under him. And it often did. When Dwight played with an edge, he dominated.

The Hall of Fame nod was justice. Dwight Howard had one of the strongest runs for a big man in the modern era. He anchored elite defenses, carried the Magic to the 2009 Finals, and collected awards like a franchise cornerstone. Three Defensive Player of the Year trophies, eight All-Star selections, and five All-NBA First Team nods. He put up numbers that spoke for themselves: 20 and 15 in the playoffs with blocks and sky-high efficiency.

When an interviewer asked, “He told me a couple weeks ago he was proud of you…What does that make you feel?” Howard smiled, dropped into a Shaq impression, and gave the exact words Shaq told him, “You know what, Imma tell you, Rachel. I’m really proud of him. He’s done an amazing job. He didn’t allow anything that I said to deter him off his path. He’s made it to the Hall of Fame. Now he can be in that G-14 classified conversation that he’s always wanted to be in. I’m proud of him.”

For fans who followed their feud, this full-circle moment was surreal. Shaq and Dwight now represent something rare in today’s game: maturity and evolution.