Why LeBron James Can (And Should) End the Dwight Howard-Shaq Feud

As an NBA fan, I have some confessions to make.

First, despite the fact he can barely hit a basket from outside 10 feet, I'm as big of a Dwight Howard fan as virtually any player in the league.

Sure, I have rooting interest for him this year because I anchored my fantasy basketball team around him (and thus chucked away the "free throw percentage" category), but there's nary a physical freak in the league like Dwight.

Second, Dwight's not the only big man that I've got a (now-not-so-secret) man-crush on in the NBA. Before Dwight, there was Shaq (aka Shaq-Mu, the Big Shaqtus, Manny Shaqiau, Shaqie Robinson).

And that's where this whole problem between the NBA's two pre-eminent big men begins.

Once upon a time, Shaq was unquestionably the NBA's most dominant center, leaving Hakeem Olajuwon, Patrick Ewing, and Dikembe Mutombo in his dust as he and the Los Angeles Lakers won three straight NBA championships.  

Shaq was the MVP of all three Finals, where he averaged 29.9 points and 14.5 rebounds, carving his name into the NBA history books.

Shaq, with a personality even larger than his 7'1'', 325lb frame (have you seen Kazaam? ), and was once known as the NBA's "Superman".

Then, with the help of one cape, undershirt, and spot in the dunk contest , Dwight Howard plucked the "Superman" moniker right from the now-aging Shaq, in a move that could be perceived as the passing of the torch.

That "passing of the torch" perception has sent Shaq into what could only be described as a "tailspin."  Count the Shaqtus as one who doesn't buy into the Howard hype.

After Shaq's Cavs beat Howard's Magic on Thursday night, O'Neal opened his mouth and openly questioned Howard's ascension to the "Superman" throne.

"When I was coming up and there was Pat Ewing and Hakeem [Olajuwon], I never doubled anybody," O'Neal said. "You tell me who the real Superman is." 

"Don't let them double team me and make it a him vs. me thing," O'Neal said. "Been doing it 18 years straight. Hakeem, Ewing, Rik Smits, [Tim] Duncan, [David] Robinson, the best of the best, straight up. I never doubled nobody. Nor have I ever asked for double team.

If you want to bang and push, let's bang and push. You're all giving away [Superman] titles, it's crazy."

Howard responded on Friday, deciding not to fire back at Shaq.

"I would never take a shot at anybody," Howard said. "It doesn't matter if you're trying to motivate them or anything. Shaq has been in the league for a long time. He has a very lengthy resume. I just started. I'm only 24-years-old and I have a long way to go.

The only thing I would want from Shaq—or any of the older guys who’ve been in my position—is to help me grow as a player and as a person. That’s what my job would be as I get older. It’s to help the new guys who come in grow into better players and not try to bring them down or talk about them in a bad light.

I would want to be that person that younger guys could look up to and ask for advice on how to carry themselves on and off the court."

This is where LeBron James comes into the picture.

As Brian Windhorst of the Cleveland Plain Dealer wrote : "The whole Superman thing kind of bothers him," James said with a smirk, purposely understating the situation. "That's definitely his nickname, and the fact that everybody kind of gave Dwight his name kind of bothers him a little bit.""

LeBron, Shaq's teammate, has a connection to D-Howard from the 2008 Beijing Olympics, when the two of them helped bring home a gold medal for the United States team.

As evidenced by the Cavs' pregame routines , LeBron comes off as a pretty light-hearted guy. While modesty might not be one of the many gifts bestowed upon him, his ability to command a room could come in handy when dealing with two seven-foot, 300-pound man-beasts like Shaq and Dwight.

For the NBA to have two of their largest (physically and metaphorically) stars in such a feud harkens back to the days of Wilt-Russell or Magic-Bird...but with these two goofy, entertaining guys to be at arms just feels wrong .

Shaq, who's off swimming against Michael Phelps in the offseason, and who's been calling himself LeBron's "manager", should be focused on the twilight of his career.  

Dwight's got a point: there's no need for Shaq to be dismissing some of the NBA's next generation, especially when he's providing guidance to guys like LeBron, Anderson Varejao, and J.J. Hickson.

But is Shaq humble enough to admit that he may have gone too far in ripping Dwight for the Superman moniker after last night's game? Not likely.

Not unless a guy like LeBron, one of the biggest names in the NBA, shows Shaq the error of his ways.

Shaq's said this season that one of his greatest impacts on the Cavs is his ability to serve as the championship-experienced veteran who imparts wisdom upon his younger teammates.  

After hearing media members say that LeBron lacked Kobe Bryant's killer instinct, he told LeBron to kick up his play a notch—'Bron responded by posting landslide-MVP stats in January.

LeBron, as an intermediary between Shaq and Dwight, can impart a different type of wisdom upon his older teammate. He can show how the NBA's top stars are buddy-buddy with one another, and show how a rivalry with Shaq's supposed successor (and the NBA's two most charismatic big men) only hurts the league.

There's nothing LeBron can do about the media referring to Dwight as Superman, short of coming up with a new nickname (a la Glen "Big Baby" Davis trying out "UnoUno"). I'm guessing Dwight doesn't want to be known as "UnoDos," so Shaq might have to bury the hatchet on that one.

Shaq's seemingly accepted his basketball mortality at nearly 38-years-old, conceding that the Cavs should run around LeBron's talents and not his. Dwight's right—now is the time that Shaq should be mentoring the NBA's up-and-coming big man superstars, such as Howard, Brook Lopez, and Al Horford.  

How better for Shaq to accept that than preparing to hand the Superman torch over to Dwight?

Heck, LeBron can even get a jump start on the healing process this weekend down in Dallas at the All-Star Game. Dwight's an All-Star, Shaq's going to be an All-Star party-goer...LeBron can make this happen.

And if he doesn't, we NBA fans run the serious risk of seeing an Eastern Conference Finals matchup of Marcin Gortat vs. Zydrunas Ilgauskas, once Shaq and Howard flagrantly foul each other out of the series.

On second thought...I'm getting excited for those Z vs. Gortat commercials already.