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<\/p>\nThere\u2019s always been something poetic about the game of basketball \u2014 how rivalries brew, legacies are passed down, and the game keeps moving forward even when giants leave the floor. But the \u201cSuperman\u201d saga? That one\u2019s personal. And now, somehow, it\u2019s come full circle, with Dwight Howard and Shaquille O\u2019Neal, once feuding over a moniker, now quietly shaping the next one to wear the cape, Dwight Howard III.<\/p>\n
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In a recent interview, Dwight Howard was asked a simple, open-ended question. \u201cDo you think there will ever be another Superman in the NBA?\u201d He grinned. \u201cYeah, Kurt Rambis was the first Superman. Y\u2019all don\u2019t remember. Then it was Shaq. Then it was Dwight. Now we gotta have a new one.\u201d For fans of the Showtime Lakers, Rambis was a cult figure. The horn-rimmed glasses, reckless abandon, clothesline from Kevin McHale. Rambis didn\u2019t fly, but he crashed through the paint like a man trying to break gravity. He was never nicknamed Superman, officially, but he played with a grit that made him feel invincible, a working-class Clark Kent who never needed a cape.<\/p>\n
And when asked who that next Superman might be, Howard didn\u2019t hesitate. \u201cDwight Howard the Third. He\u2019s in middle school. Me and Shaq are training him right now. Shaq is training over free throws, and I was working on his weights. So by the time he gets to the league, he gon\u2019 be ready.\u201d Dwight \u201cTrey\u201d Howard III is 12, and the nickname \u201cD12\u201d has already been passed down symbolically and loaded. For Dwight, it\u2019s a legacy. The original D12 turned Orlando into a contender, carried the Magic to the 2009 NBA Finals, and wore No. 12 with a purpose. The surprising twist in this Superman saga? Shaquille O\u2019Neal is now in the lab with Dwight\u2019s son.<\/p>\n
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For years, Shaquille O\u2019Neal has made it clear that he doesn\u2019t want his kids to chase his shadow on the basketball court. The message is consistent. \u201cWe don\u2019t need another basketball player. At all.\u201d Shaq has six children, many of whom dabbled in basketball. Shareef played at UCLA and LSU. Me\u2019arah committed to LSU before transferring. But none have yet made it to the NBA. Not for lack of talent, but perhaps by choice, or design. Shaq has talked often about sacrifice. <\/p>\n
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His military stepfather, Sgt. Phillip Harrison instilled that in him early. Shaq took that to the NBA, turned $120 million in salary into a $400 million empire, and doesn\u2019t want his kids chasing stats when they could build empires of their own. Shaq<\/a> has always pushed them toward medicine, law, or innovation, not the hardwood. \u201cIn order to touch daddy\u2019s cheese, you got to show me two or three degrees.\u201d<\/p>\n That makes his mentorship of Trey Howard stand out. The same man who resisted turning his kids into athletes is now coaching another man\u2019s son. Because something in Trey clearly shifted his mindset. Maybe because this one doesn\u2019t feel like a shadow-chaser. Trey Howard is earning the nickname \u201cD12.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Dwight\u2019s been vocal about training his kids, even if it draws heat. Back in 2023, he was criticized for pushing his 9-year-old son, David, through a grueling bike session, Howard refusing to let up. \u201cYou can!\u201d he said again and again. Some called it too much. Dwight called it love.<\/p>\n He\u2019s been there before. \u201cJust got finished coaching my son and his basketball team down here in Georgia,\u201d he said on Podcast P. \u201cThey\u2019re only 11 years old, so just giving them an opportunity to play the game, learn the game at a very high level. It\u2019s been amazing.\u201d Even Trey\u2019s older brother Braylon posted a dunk on IG with the caption, \u201cIon need not of y\u2019all saying Mini Dwight.\u201d That sparked comments, given the past tension between Dwight and Braylon\u2019s mother, Royce Reed. Their relationship has seen public strain. But Dwight keeps pushing, flawed, but present.<\/p>\n Trey has got his dad\u2019s name and now his number. And if he makes it to the league, it\u2019ll be Superman reborn, built by two of the most polarizing big men in league history. The cape\u2019s already been stitched. Now we wait to see if the kid can fly.<\/p>\n Shaq & Dwight: a partnership forged in peace (lately)<\/p>\n Dwight Howard and Shaquille O\u2019Neal have spent more than a decade as basketball\u2019s coldest rivals.<\/a> It started with a nickname, \u201cSuperman,\u201d and spiraled into pettiness and media jabs. But all of that changed earlier this year, not on a podcast or press conference, but in a place you wouldn\u2019t expect \u2014 a hookah lounge. \u201cWhen I got inducted into the Magic Hall of Fame, I end up seeing Shaq at a hookah lounge,\u201d Howard recalled. \u201cI just ran into Shaq out of nowhere. And I\u2019m like, this is crazy. So I\u2019m like, \u2018Man, I\u2019m gonna go talk to him.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n What followed was a conversation, and the years of tension started to dissolve. \u201cWe get a little room, we sit down\u2026 and it got better from there,\u201d\u00a0Howard said.<\/a> The so-called beef had lived long enough. Both men were finally ready to move forward, together. \u201cThere\u2019s room enough in this world for two Supermen. I\u2019m just grateful that he\u2019s going to be walking me out [at the Hall of Fame]. It\u2019s a big honor.\u201d Dwight added. And that wasn\u2019t just talk.<\/p>\n Shaq showed up on NBA TV, floral blazer and all, and gave Dwight his long-overdue props. The flowers were literal and symbolic. Shaq told Dennis Scott it was never personal. He called it motivation. Tough love, the kind Shaq says worked for him. He pushed Dwight because he saw the potential, and he knew anger lit a fire under him. And it often did. When Dwight played with an edge, he dominated.<\/p>\n The Hall of Fame nod was justice. Dwight Howard had one of the strongest runs for a big man in the modern era. He anchored elite defenses, carried the Magic<\/a> to the 2009 Finals, and collected awards like a franchise cornerstone. Three Defensive Player of the Year trophies, eight All-Star selections, and five All-NBA First Team nods. He put up numbers that spoke for themselves: 20 and 15 in the playoffs with blocks and sky-high efficiency.<\/p>\n ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n