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NBA legend Shaquille O'Neal has had a decorated basketball career which has seen him amass 4 championships, 3 Finals MVPs and and an MVP awards while playing for 6 teams over a 19-year journey. LA Lakers and Miami Heat have retired his jersey and he is still revered as arguably the best center of all time.
However, the 7-footer has had a penchant for picking up a fight with his peers and even players who are currently playing in the league. Recently he, in the capacity of TNT's host, had an awkward exchange with Utah Jazz star Donovan Mitchell.
5 Times Shaquille O'Neal got into a feud with an NBA star
The list doesn't end at Donovan Mitchell, as the former Boston Celtics star has been involved in disputes with players ranging from yesteryear legends like David Robinson to current bigs like Rudy Gobert. On that note, let's take a look at 5 players Shaquille O'Neal has been involved in a quarrel with in recent times.
#5- Donovan Mitchell
Shaquille O’Neal and the NBA on TNT crew have had a few awkward postgame interviews with young players over the years but what happened late Thursday night with Utah Jazz star Donovan Mitchell might have been the most bizarre one yet.
Following Jazz's win over the New Orleans Pelicans, Donovan Mitchell was requested to stay back and have an interview with TNT's host Shaquille O'Neal. The 2000 MVP then proceeded to tell the Jazz shooting guard that he doesn't think that Mitchell has what it takes to be a star, to which he responded by simply nodding his head and saying "Aight".
Interestingly, Mitchell starred for the Jazz in this win, scoring a game high 36 points, while also grabbing 7 rebounds and dishing out 5 assists, which makes this situation involving him and Shaquille O'Neal even more bizarre.
#4- James Harden
Following James Harden's well documented move to Brooklyn Nets, fans, experts and journalists all weighed on the high profile trade. Shaquille O'Neal also chipped in, although he also took shots at the 2018 MVP for suggesting that he gave it all for the Houston Rockets during his time with them.
O'Neal mentioned how the Rockets tried to surround Harden with championship caliber players, and it was him who let the organization down by not giving the city a title. Harden did not hesitate to clap back, as he uploaded an Instagram story suggesting Shaquille O'Neal was "Putting him down".
#3- Christian Wood
Since signing for the Houston Rockets in the off-season, power forward Christian Wood has been in sublime form. The former Detroit Pistons man has averaged 23 5 points and 10 rebounds per game so far, single-handedly carrying the Rockets offense.
However, following the Rockets' recent win over San Antonio Spurs in which Wood starred, Shaquille O'Neal mentioned on TNT that he is not at all "familiar" with the forward's game. Naturally, Wood didn't take it well, and responded with calling him a "casual".
#2- Rudy Gobert
On January 4th, Shaquille O'Neal took to his Instagram to post a photo of him dunking on Utah Jazz's star center, Rudy Gobert, with the following caption-
This could have turned into a power struggle on social media, but Frenchman Gobert decided to take the high road, saying that there is "no beef" between him and Shaq. O'Neal's Instagram post seems a bit exaggerated, considering he is a 2 time Defensive Player of the Year and a 3 time All-NBA inductee.
O'Neal notably has a penchant for targeting the modern centers. Before he took a dig at Rudy Gobert, he had also taken a dig at Philadelphia 76ers' Cameroonian big Joel Embiid last year in the Orlando bubb
#1- Dwight Howard
Shaquille O'Neal's tiff with Dwight Howard has been going on since his playing days. Howard was famously known as 'Superman', a title Shaq thought was more befitting to his game and personality. It escalated when Howard donned the Superman costume in 2008 NBA dunk contest, which offended Shaquille O'Neal further.
The enmity reignited last year, when Dwight Howard won his maiden NBA championship with the LA Lakers. The former DPOY played an important role for the title winning team as a backup center. However, Shaquille O'Neal was disparagingl about it, and mentioned on his podcast that he did not like players "bragging" on Instagram when they won a championship.
Guess the Lakers players!
