Shaquille O’Neal take a jab at Orlando Magic big Dwight Howard: NBA Update
Shaquille O’Neal, who was recently honoured with a 900 pound bronze statue by the Louisiana State University, continues to take shot at the Orlando Magic’s big man Dwight Howard even after the retirement.
Shaq, who also started his career in Orlando’s uniform, may have said good-bye to NBA where he conquered almost every court he set foot on, however it seems like he still doesn’t like people who are compared to him.
While giving an interview to the New Orleans Times Picayune during which he discussed his retirement decision and compared his former teammates and coaches, the 15-time NBA All-Star also took some time to fire another salvo at
Dwight Howard, concerning his nickname Superman.
"I don't have a problem (with Howard). But my thing is if you want to call yourself me (Superman), then you've got big shoes to fill. He won a dunk contest with a cape. If you want to be called Superman because of that, it's fine
with me. I'm Superman for other reasons." Shaq said.
As a result of a huge physique and extraordinary athleticism, Dwight is nicked named ‘Superman’, which was once associated with Shaquille O’Neal. However Shaq implied that Howard, who has entered the prime time of his career, is
not as lethal as he was on the court.
"I don't envy him; he's a great young player. But I've never seen him dog another centre out. I tried to dog centres out. I went at David Robinson." Shaq said.
Shaquille O’Neal also believes that there was more competition during his time when he had to go against a number of best players in the history of NBA. Whereas, considering the modern world of NBA, Kendrick Perkins and Andrew
Bynum are the only best centres for Dwight to compete against.
"When I came in the league, I had to go through Alonzo Mourning, Arvydas Sabonis, Kevin Duckworth, Rik Smits.” Shaq said.
The 7 ft 1 inch Shaquille O’Neal, who was one of the heaviest players ever in NBA, announced his retirement on 1st June, 2011 with a career average of 23.7 points and 10.9 rebounds. Shaq played with six NBA teams and won four NBA
titles during his inspiring career.
Dwight Howard has played seven seasons so far and averaged 18.2 points and 12.9 rebounds per game. Howard was absolutely incredible in the last season in which he averaged 22.9 points and 14.1 rebounds and he will only going to
climb further from here.
Shaq and Howard, both were drafted as the first overall pick by the Orlando Magic. The rivalry between the two NBA superstars seems to linger even after one has called it quits at the end of the last season.
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