The Los Angeles Lakers have had some of the best players to ever take the hardwood for an NBA game on their roster over the years and that has led to the franchise celebrating several illustrious careers that landed players in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
We can now add another famous big man to that list of Lakers as Dwight Howard has been selected as an inductee for the 2025 Hall of Fame class which will be celebrated in Springfield, Massachusetts later this year. Now that Howard will be immortalized in the Hall of Fame along with so many other of the greats to ever play the game, we can turn our attention to who will be presenting the former No. 1 overall pick during the ceremony itself and it appears as though at least one fellow Laker has agreed to do so.
During a recent episode of "The Big Pod with Shaq", Shaquille O'Neal revealed that he has ended his longtime beef with Howard and has agreed to walk the big man out when he is inducted into the Hall of Fame.
BREAKING: Shaq has ended his beef with Dwight Howard and has agreed to walk him out at the Hall of Fame 🤯
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) April 10, 2025
“That’s my guy”
(🎥 @bigpodwithshaq / https://t.co/iPwUReEL6G) pic.twitter.com/Wh0nhMgAD4
O'Neal's agreement to be there for Howard at what will undoubtedly be one of the most cherished memories he will have from his professional basketball career secures at least one Lakers legend for the moment. However, as Jared Greenberg noted, Howard has also requested for Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Kevin Garnett to join Shaq for the occasion.
I want KG , Shaq, and Kareem to walk me out 🙏🏾 #hof
— Dwight Howard (@DwightHoward) April 5, 2025
Should Howard be able to secure all three to be in attendance in order to walk him out ahead of his speech, it will be an incredible moment featuring dominant big men from multiple generations coming together to celebrate their collective achievements and their respective contributions to the game of basketball.
Over the course of his Hall of Fame career, Howard owned averages of 15.7 points and 11.8 rebounds per game in over 1,200 regular season appearances. On top of being an NBA champion, Howard was an eight-time All-Star, a five-time All-NBA First-Team selection, and a three-time Defensive Player of the Year award winner, among other accolades.
Joining Howard as part of the 2025 Hall of Fame class are a number of former Lakers in Carmelo Anthony, Sue Bird, Billy Donovan, Sylvia Fowles, Maya Moore, and the 2008 USA Men's Olympic team. This group of basketball legends will be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on Sept. 6, 2025.