They both started out with the Orlando Magic, claimed themselves as "Superman" and ended up going to the Los Angeles Lakers and team up with Kobe Bryant.
The Lakers have always built a great tradition in getting centers. It all started with Wilt Chamberlain, then Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and now it's Shaq and Howard.
O'Neal took to USA Today to take some shots at Howard, saying that he will need to live up a lot to the pressure that will be coming at him.
“I have three sons, and I always tell them that if you want to call yourself big then you have big shoes to fill. Anybody who calls himself big has big shoes to fill. Right now, he’s off pace. He has to get himself on pace if he wants to call himself big.”
Howard will be facing much higher expectations than he was with Orlando. If he can't handle what he was faced when he was with the Magic, he'll have a tough time trying to handle what will go on in a purple-and-gold uniform.
“The first thing the great Jerry West did when I signed with the Lakers is he walked me into the Forum and told me to look up. He showed me all the great big men that played before me and how many championships they won. The Lakers have a tradition of having great big men. He has a lot of work ahead of him. If he thinks the Orlando Sentinel was on his case when he didn’t perform, guys like Bill Plaschke, they don’t play…the first year they (the fans) are going to love him, but the second and third year, if they don’t win, he will be back to square one.”
Howard never has listen to Shaq on what he has said, but this may be something to take a glance at.
Josh Dhani is the founder of FootBasket. You can read more about him at his website. Follow him on Twitter @joshdhani.
