Despite their past feud, Shaquille O'Neal confirmed that he will be at the Hall of Fame ceremony for Dwight Howard.
Howard was very much a predecessor to O'Neal as an impossibly athletic big man who was near unstoppable when they were on. The soon-to-be Hall of Famer was drafted first overall by the same team that selected O'Neal first overall, the Orlando Magic.
But O'Neal was also a frequent critic of Howard, claiming that he didn't get enough out of his talent. And some wondered if, for that reason, O'Neal wouldn't be willing to serve as a presenter at Howard's Hall of Fame ceremony.
During a recent Big 3 event, Rachel Nichols asked Shaq about his relationship with Howard, and O'Neal claimed he never criticized his fellow big man out of animosity:
"We finally had a heart-to-heart, you know. The same thing I did with him, the same thing I did with Kobe, D-Wade, Penny Hardaway. It was how I motivate young players to become great. I treat them like I don’t like them, and I try to get them upset.
Because I know guys like Dwight and Penny, and Kobe especially, and D-Wade, when you upset them, they play at a higher level. But we hashed it out. He thought I genuinely disliked him. I told him, no, that’s not the case."
Howard will enter the Hall of Fame on September 6th as part of a class that also includes Carmelo Anthony, Danny Crawford, the 2008 U.S. Men's Olympic Team, Sue Bird, Sylvia Fowles, Maya Moore, and Billy Donovan.
