Shaquille O’Neal is best remembered as a Los Angeles Lakers legend. Some people think of him as an Orlando Magic star alongside Penny Hardaway in the mid-1990s.
But he also spent three-plus seasons with the Miami Heat from 2004 to 2008, and he helped them win their first title in 2006.
O’Neal was honored at American Airlines Arena in Miami on Thursday night, when his No. 32 was retired to the rafters in a halftime ceremony during Heat-Lakers.
O’Neal joins Tim Hardaway (No. 10) and Alonzo Mourning (No. 33) as Heat players to have their number retired. The team also retired No. 23 in honor of Michael Jordan, which is a little strange.
Dwyane Wade almost certainly will have his No. 3 retired by the Heat someday. He’s without question the best player in the franchise’s history. LeBron James and Chris Bosh are other players who could see their numbers retired by Miami at some point.
The Heat are the second team to retire Shaq’s number. The Los Angeles Lakers, with whom O’Neal won three titles from 1996 through 2004, retired his No. 34 in April 2013.
Thumbnail photo via Steve Mitchell/USA TODAY Sports Images
