Shaq Criticizes Howard: TNT Analyst Calls Dwight "Too Nice"

Shaquille O’Neal slammed Dwight Howard as “too nice” and insinuates he should be more like him if he wants to get the most from his vast potential.

In a far-ranging interview, O’Neal told ESPN: "I'm a connoisseur of giggling and playing and all that and making you laugh and playing with the fans, but when I cross that line, I'm ready to tear your face off. I don't care who it is. You could put one of my aunts or uncles out there, and I'm going to give him these elbows in their chest and I'm going to throw it down in their face. That's what you have to do. ... He's just too nice. If I was him, I would get into the same mood I was in."

Still, O’Neal told ESPN he feels it’s his duty to help the man whose career, in many ways, has come to mirror his own.

“I think it's my duty to help this young man become one of the best big men in the league," O'Neal added. "I'm from the old school. I'm not doing it nicely. I'm pushing buttons, I'm talking about you and I'm doing it like this. ... I think it's my job as a former big man to get him to play up to par.”

During the interview, O’Neal also reflected on the relationships he had with former Lakers big man greats Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Wilt Chamberlain.

"Kareem and Wilt never spoke to me,” he told ESPN. “They never said two things to me. I took that as a, 'OK, you all don't think I'm as good as you yet. Well, watch this.' That's what it was -- motivation. Everything I say should be taken as motivation. He's the best big man in the league, and it's my job to make sure he plays that way. Period."

A free-agent this summer, some have speculated the pressure of living up to the likes of O’Neal, Jabbar and Chamberlain may prove too much for Howard, and he may elect to take his talents elsewhere. O’Neal insists it would pain him to see that happen.

"I don't want him to reach out to me," O'Neal said. "I want him to get into the 'Forget Shaq' mode and [say], 'Watch this.' He doesn't even have to reach out to me."

Like O’Neal, Howard is a former No. 1 pick of the Orlando Magic and led the team to the NBA Finals before taking his “Superman” act out west to Los Angeles.

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