Dwight Howard has been looking for a return to the NBA for quite some time now. This year, during the playoffs, he even got support from a Los Angeles Lakers fan who asked for his return to stop Nikola Jokic’s horror show. Since the talks of his return have simmered down, his past beefs have gained much momentum. First, it was with  Shaquille O’Neal, and now with Udonis Haslem. 

Regarding his issues with Shaq, there has been a lot of back-and-forth between the two. On last week’s episode of the OG podcast, Mike Miller told

Howard, “He[Shaq] said that you never reached out to him for advice,” and the 3x DPOY replied, “That’s a lie.” Shaq has yet to respond to Howard’s claims, but UD wasn’t going to let the thing slide on his podcast. During last week’s podcast, Howard took a shot at the OG Podcast co-host in his absence, and it hasn’t gone down well with Udonis Haslem.

In this week’s episode, Haslem initially assumed his regular duty as he noted, “Look real comfortable; that’s all I’m going say okay you and your guy Dwight..” He even felt that Miller and Goran Dragic, who substituted in his place, made a good team. Miller quickly addressed the elephant in the room by asking the fan question that stirred the pot: if Dwight Howard and UD put on boxing gloves, who would win the bragging rights? Haslem said without flinching, “Whoop that man’s a** now…”

However, the answer is not due to anger or lingering issues due to beef, but because of Haslem’s competitive nature and personality. He even added, “At the end of the day, like, I like myself against anybody.”

But is the beef between Dwight Howard and UD truly over?

Last week, when asked the same question about the boxing match, Howard said, “I’m smoking, oh, I’m smoking UD quick.” Further explaining how he has some boxing ring experience, he shared his narrative, thanks to help from Manny Pacquiao. But when the episode began, Haslem sent out a video message to set the record straight for his absence on the podcast.

First of all, he appreciated Goran for stepping in on his behalf. Then, he understandably explained the shaky past between him and Howard. Haslem claimed, ” I’m too old to be holding motherf*****g grudges.” He spoke about the time when, during his fifth year in the NBA with the Miami Heat, there was an altercation between the pair. Howard had busted his eardrum unintentionally, which led to a perforated eardrum that required surgery. And ever since that day, UD has played with a chip on his shoulder against Howard.

“But that takes away nothing that you accomplish as a basketball player Top 75 in my opinion I definitely think you deserve to be on that list… I wish you nothing but the best man ain’t no smoke man it’s all love brother,” he added. So it seems Dwight Howard and Udonis Haslem have buried the hatchet and moved on.

But is the beef between Shaq and Howard truly over? What’s your take on their prolonged clash? Let us know below.