Dwight Howard always stood in Shaquille O'Neal's shadow.
A generation of big men stood in O'Neal's shadow. He felt like he had a responsibility to guide the next generation of big men and that put Dwight Howard in his crosshairs as someone he needed to push and inspire.
Really, the entire Orlando Magic franchise stands in O'Neal's shadow -- literally now with his No. 32 hanging in the rafters at the Kia Center.
But Howard felt that pressure more than anyone else.
Like O'Neal, he was a prodigy of a prospect, taken No. 1 by the Magic. Like O'Neal, Howard understood how to put on a show and to play with a smile. He had to deal with questions about his approach and his overall dominance as he fought to win a championship.
Like O'Neal, Howard donned the Superman moniker. In some ways, Howard invited the comparisons beyond his being with the same franchise to start his career. There was no escaping that shadow.
At the time, O'Neal, still in the latter parts of his career, seemed to bristle at these comparisons. Even though O'Neal had four championships to his name, it seemed like he took offense at this smiling young center taking his mantle.
O'Neal's shadow indeed cast a large shadow over Howard, the Magic and the entire league.
A lot has been forgiven over the years.
O'Neal's jersey was retired to some debate among Magic fans. But O'Neal reconciled with the first team he called home.
Now, even O'Neal and Howard have made amends. The two reportedly buried the hatchet earlier this year, and now O'Neal will bestow Howard the ultimate honor.
As Shaquille O'Neal announced when he spoke with Rachel Nichols at The Big 3 this weekend, he will officially present Dwight Howard when Howard is inducted into the Pro Basketball Hall of Fame, joining Dominique Wilkins, Patrick Ewing, Dennis Rodman and Robert Parish in presenting Howard in Springfield.
The Hall of Fame enshrinement ceremony is Sept. 6.
Let’s make it official. See you soon @SHAQ. 😎 #25HoopClass pic.twitter.com/tobLF6xR8k
— Basketball HOF (@Hoophall) August 19, 2025
Even among those luminaries, O'Neal stands the tallest. And this feels like a final recognition of everything Howard did throughout his career and, if not a passing of the torch, a sharing of the torch between the Magic's two greatest centers.
The Howard and O'Neal relationship was always rocky
Shaquille O'Neal was always an obvious choice to present Dwight Howard for the Hall of Fame ceremony. So much of their career was tied together, especially because of their time in Orlando.
Even Orlando Magic fans could not help but compare the two players in almost every way. Howard adopting the Superman moniker for the Slam Dunk Contest in 2008 only added to that comparison and veneration.
But when they were playing, O'Neal seemed to bristle at those comparisons. It seemed like he was not ready to cede any ground to the young center.
It did not help that their approaches were very different.
O'Neal was a gruff veteran who felt like he controlled what a center was in the league. He was serious-minded and had the rings to back it up. Howard was smiling and dancing around. He had an unrefined post game and focused most of his offensive game on being a defense-sucking roller to free up the shooters around him.
They clashed in many ways on and off the court. The beef felt all too real -- Howard said the moment he thought it became real was when O'Neal jokingly tossed aside a birthday cake with Howard's image on it when the Inside the NBA crew pranked him for his birthday a few years ago.
O'Neal would say now that he was delivering the kind of tough love he delivers to all players he thinks can be great.
He was demanding more from Howard than he was currently giving -- Howard's peak season came in 2011 when he averaged 22.9 points and 14.1 rebounds per game, finishing second in MVP and winning his third straight Defensive Player of the Year award.
That was his approach with everyone, as he has tried to explain.
"The same thing I did with him is the same thing I did with Kobe, D-Wade and Penny Hardaway," Shaquille O'Neal told Rachel Nichols during the CBS broadcast of the Big 3 in Dallas last weekend. "That's how I motivate young players to be great. I treat them like I don't like them and try to get them upset. I know guys like Dwight, and Penny and Kobe and D-Wade, when you upset them, they play at a higher level. We hashed it out. He thought I generally disliked him, I told him, 'No, that's not the case.' As a leader, sometimes you have to find different ways to motivate youngsters."
Howard and O'Neal make amends
Time has a way of making that feel like it is water under the bridge. And Shaquille O'Neal, while still oftentimes critical of young players in the league as he tries to motivate them to reach his level, seems to be making amends with past enemies.
Dwight Howard was certainly one of them.
Howard went on O'Neal's The Big Podcast a few months ago to squash the supposed beef between the two. Being retired and officially done with competitive basketball -- Howard is still playing in the Big 3 and will be in their All-Star Game when it rolls through Orlando for its championship weekend at Addition Financial Arena.
The two hashed things out and explained their approach to the game. Shaquille O'Neal said he was only motivating Dwight Howard to be the best player he could be the same way greats like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Wilt Chamberlain pushed him to be better.
Howard will enter the Hall of Fame next month. The Magic put him in the team's Hall of Fame last year. A jersey retirement is certainly something the team will consider in the years ahead -- there are a few other players the franchise should get to first, and members of the 2009 team will slowly get added to the team Hall of Fame, too.
Old playing beefs should be put to rest. Now it is about honoring their legacy.
Howard does not have the championship glory that O'Neal got in his career. Howard's only title came as a reserve center for the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020, long after his prime had passed.
But in Magic history, these are the two titans for the franchise. They are among the players everyone in Magic history will be compared to. It is only proper that O'Neal will bring Howard to the Hall in Springfield.