Dwight Howard wishes Shaq would: “Sit down, and get on with his life”

Dwight’s response to Shaq’s repeated criticism.

We’ve seen the back and forth between these two over the past couple years, but never has Dwight come out and directly addressed Shaq on a personal level.  I’ve applauded Dwight for staying above the hype and unnecessary drama in the past, and I’m going to commend him for taking the stance he took in this video.  I’m all for professionalism and displaying a certain level of maturity as a mega-star, but sometimes you have address a subject once and for all, and Dwight has.  Will Shaq fire back, or will he let this childish, largely one-sided feud go?

For the record, I understand why Shaq would initially take issue with Dwight being the “Next Big Thing”, especially in Orlando (Shaq’s original team), and especially since Dwight was given the same nickname Shaq originally had.  Then again, Shaq, you have like 50,000 nicknames…you can’t lay claim to ALL of them.  All kidding aside, I understand Shaq’s initial beef, or at least understand his reason for being annoyed.  What I don’t understand is why Shaq feels Dwight’s popularity somehow diminishes his legacy or greatness?  Shaq, we all saw the dunks. We watched you destroy The Admiral, Mutumbo, Mourning, Ewing, and most of the centers of your time.  Hakeem got you, but you can’t be faulted for that, as Hakeem is an All-Time great.  We watched the videos, the movies…hell, I still have a signed cd of yours somewhere.  Just because Dwight is getting the attention now, it doesn’t mean we will forget about you, Shaq.  Shaq’s jersey will still be hanging from the rafters in Orlando and Los Angeles at some point.  He may just have a bit of company with a Howard-12 jersey next to both of them.

Jabari A. Davis