Dwight Howard Concedes 'Superman' Title To Shaq

Sports News - February 15th, 2010 - Written By John Ritter

Dwight Howard may be manning Shaquille O'Neal's old post as center for the Orlando Magic, was similarly the first pick in his draft, and lost in the Finals early in his career. But the comparisons stop there, the fifth-year veteran said.

All this Superman talk done by chattering reporters has gone on long enough, and he settled the debate himself. Shaq Daddy is the original, no questions asked.

Shortly before his third All-Star game in Dallas, the Orlando Magic big man told reporters he is not in a battle with O'Neal over the rights to the Superman nickname, and is only trying to be himself.

"I don't have any problems against him," Howard said. "The whole Superman thing, there's no battle of nicknames. I mean, if he wants to be Superman, he can be Superman. But I never tried to steal that title from him or take away anything that he's done for the game of basketball."

The two became tied to the hip in publications over the moniker because both have tried to stake claim to it in recent years. Shaq has the Superman shield tattooed on his bicep, and much of his home is peppered with memorabilia. But Howard adopted the name when he won the 2008 Dunk Contest wearing a red cape and slamming home a ball on a 12-foot goal.

The next year, Nate Robinson used Howard in a parody of the famous dunk. Wearing the New York Knicks' green jersey and a neon arm sleeve as "kryptonite", he had the center stand in the lane with the cape on, and soared over him for a dunk that earned him a perfect score.

But O'Neal didn't get involved in the dispute until recently, when the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Magic and he said, "You tell me who the real Superman is."

Howard was apparently taken back by the jab, given that he said he never claimed ownership of the name.

"It didn't sit well with me personally," he said. "I'm a young player trying to get to where he's at. I felt it would be better if he tried to help me instead of trying to put me down."

Howard would instead prefer to have talks with O'Neal about how to get over the hump and eventually clinch a league title. After losing in his first appearance with the Magic in 1995, O'Neal went on to win three championships with the Los Angeles Lakers, and another with the Miami Heat. The Cavaliers are currently atop the Eastern NBA Standings, and favorites to make The Finals in June according to the NBA Odds.

"I would like, instead of people fighting over a nickname, for us to be able to talk about what it's like to win a championship. Just little things that him being who he is can help me," Howard told TNT. "But I never tried to do anything to be like him. I'm my own person. I just love to have fun, and I have a lot of respect for him and what he's brought to the game of basketball, and I would just ask that somebody like Shaquille O'Neal to help me become a better basketball player and a better person."