Shaquille O’Neal is not afraid to ruffle some feathers including those of players from his former Los Angeles Lakers team.
During a recent episode of the Big Podcast with Shaq, O’Neal went on a tirade against a current Lakers player, who purportedly bragged on Instagram as though he had a huge role in bringing the championship back to L.A.
“You know what I don’t like as a player?” O’Neal asked on the podcast. “It’s a lot of (Lakers) players on their little Instagram bragging like they were the reasons they got the championship. I ain’t gon’ say no names.”
It appears that the player that O’Neal may have been referring to is none other than Dwight Howard, who joined the Lakers last summer.
Shaq seems to be bothered by Dwight celebrating winning a ring. https://t.co/FeloSl53M7
— Ball Don’t Lie (@Balldontlie) October 23, 2020
O’Neal has been critical of Howard in the past especially after the latter went to the Lakers after playing for the Orlando Magic, a path that the former also took on his way to Tinseltown. But O’Neal appeared to be proud of Howard’s performance as a Laker as though he had buried the hatchet with Howard until this latest development.
“I know you know who I’m talking about,” O’Neal added. “Stop it. Frontrunner. Bandwagon jumper. Stop it. Post one pic and sit your a– down.”
Though he’s retired and now a member of the media, the 15-time All-Star continues to support Lakers Nation as much as he can. However, it looks like Howard’s social media post about his role on the team’s latest title didn’t sit well with O’Neal.
The Lakers won three straight titles with O’Neal taking the lead as he and Kobe Bryant dominated the league during their time together wearing purple and gold. O’Neal won all three of his Finals MVP awards as a Laker, powering the franchise back to prominence at the start of the century.
The former Lakers center also won the regular season MVP award during the 1999-00 season, arguably his best season as a pro.
