Shaquille O’Neal will be honored by the Miami Heat, the team he won his fourth NBA title with back in 2006 with Dwyane Wade.
O’Neal and a young Wade brought a title to Miami that didn’t seem very likely after the Heat fell down 2-0 to the Dallas Mavericks in the Finals before pulling together four consecutive victories to clinch the title.
The Heat tweeted out the following video, reliving some of his best moments as a member of the team.
We’re Shaq’ing Up!
#32 is headed to the @aaarena rafters in 2016. Congrats @SHAQ!https://t.co/RbzASg8Rfm
— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) February 9, 2016
During his three and a half year tenure with the Heat, O’Neal averaged 18.8 points, 9.2 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 1.8 blocks per game. His years in Miami were the last few seasons that O’Neal had a significant impact on the court. He was traded to Phoenix in February of 2008, where he was still able to average 17 points and eight rebounds per game.
Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel brings up an interesting point when it comes to O’Neal’s number retirement, and points out that another former member of the Heat could see his number go up into the rafters. Considering the reasoning given, it seems like a foregone conclusion.
With O'Neal honored for such a short tenure and a single title, it makes it all but inevitable Heat eventually will retire LeBron's No. 6.
— Ira Winderman (@IraHeatBeat) February 9, 2016
Team President Pat Riley released a statement praising O’Neal’s contributions to the franchise.
“Shaquille O’Neal is one of the truly elite players in the history of the game and one of the greatest players to ever wear a HEAT uniform,” said HEAT President Pat Riley. “He took us to another level as a basketball franchise while leading us to our first NBA championship. Retiring his number in the rafters, along with HEAT greats Alonzo Mourning and Tim Hardaway, is something we are very proud of.”
O’Neal’s retired number joins Tim Hardaway’s number 10, Alonzo Mourning’s number 33, and Michael Jordan’s 23 as the only retired numbers hanging up in the rafters of American Airlines Arena.
