Miami Heat To Retire Shaquille O'Neal's Number December 22
The Miami Heat announced Monday that they will retire Shaquille O'Neal's No. 32 jersey during a halftime ceremony on Dec. 22 at American Airlines Arena during a game against the Los Angeles Lakers — the team who sent O'Neal to Miami in a 2004 trade.
O'Neal, who played in Miami from 2004-08, teamed up with Dwyane Wade to win the 2006 NBA championship — the first title in franchise history — over the Dallas Mavericks.
He will be the third player in Heat history to have his jersey retired, joining Alonzo Mourning and Tim Hardaway.
The Hall of Fame center averaged 19.6 points, 9.1 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.9 blocks during his time with the team. In September, Heat president Pat Riley said that bringing O'Neal to Miami was "bigger than any acquisition that we ever made, including the Big Three."
"The seminal moment to make us really, really legitimate," Riley said. "He turned our franchise around. He gave us real legitimacy."
''This is an inside joke for all the Miami people,'' O'Neal said. ''It's definitely unexpected.''
Not from the Heat perspective, it wasn't. Although it wasn't a well-kept secret that O'Neal's departure from the Heat did not come with either side particularly happy with and fond of the other - O'Neal thought he was being pranked when a team official called months ago to say this event was planned - it was always Miami's intention to pay homage to his tenure with the franchise.
''He's a once-in-a-lifetime player,'' Heat President Pat Riley said. ''There are a lot of them in the history of the NBA, but he's a once-in-a-lifetime acquisition for us and meant so much to us.''
Alex Rodriguez was there sitting courtside for the big night, and so was rapper DJ Khaled. Heat coach Erik Spoelstra emerged from the locker room for the halftime ceremony, as did former O'Neal teammate Udonis Haslem. There were a slew of gifts, including a framed version of the jersey banner that was raised, and a miniature 18-wheeler - like the one he arrived on in 2004 - driven out onto the court by O'Neal's mother, Lucille.
O'Neal thanked Haslem and Mourning, and made sure to pay tribute to the fans.
''I couldn't done it without you,'' O'Neal said.
As the event was starting, Riley dumped hundreds of the ''15 Strong'' cards that were the signature keepsake for the 2006 Heat NBA title team over his head.
''We would not have won the championship in 2006 without the efforts of Shaquille O'Neal,'' Riley said.
O'Neal had about a dozen relatives and friends with him for the halftime celebration of Miami's game against the Los Angeles Lakers, taking a break from his game-analyst duties on television for the festivities. The Heat gave commemorative T-shirts to all fans in attendance, and presented O'Neal with a $50,000 check for his foundation.
And it ended with O'Neal offering his favorite line: ''Can you dig it?'' he bellowed twice, as the crowd screamed.
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Miami Heat To Retire Shaquille O'Neal's Number December 22
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