The Miami Heat recently decided to pay tribute to Dwyane Wade by building his statue outside their home arena. Pat Riley, the franchise president, publicly made the announcement as the NBA shared the captured moment on Instagram. The clip caught the attention of Shaquille O’Neal as he showed off the achievement of his former teammate, 6 years after having his Los Angeles Lakers statue unveiled.
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The Heat hosted a special ceremony during the halftime of their home clash against the Charlotte Hornets. The organization congratulated Wade in front of their fans for becoming an NBA Hall of Famer last year. Taking the stage, Riley surprised the 3x champion with his news as the crowd cheered showcasing the support.
“I think we are gonna put a bobblehead like out there next year. It will be a statue 8 feet tall. We bought it to make sure it is bigger than Shaquille O’Neal and it will be the first statue ever that’ll be here on Biscayne Boulevard and it is forever for the greatest player in the history of this game,” the 78-year-old declared.
It was a sign of respect toward Wade’s 14-year-long service to the franchise since joining them in 2003. He was integral in helping them win their first-ever championship in 2006 while earning the Finals MVP award. Following that, the Flash-led backcourt guided the Heat to two more titles in 2012 and 2013. Thus, his contributions arguably made him the most deserving franchise player ever to receive this honor.
The 13x All-Star acknowledged that later, mentioning, “I think the reception I get from the fanbase is everything”. “My legacy is people,” he highlighted displaying his gratitude for the organization’s decision to build his statue.
O’Neal seemed to have aligned himself with the thought process of the Heat as he shared the captured moment from his Instagram story. The Diesel backed the 41-year-old following the unveiling of his statue at the STAPLES Center in March 2017.
It once again showcased his admiration for his former colleague as the 4x champion respected Wade’s greatness.
A look back at the statue unveiling of Shaquille O’Neal
Six years back, the Lakers franchise paid their tribute to the center by unveiling his statue. It symbolized gratitude from their side as the New Jersey-born helped them achieve a three-peat from the year 2000 to 2002. “I would like to thank the Buss family for this,” Shaq mentioned on that occasion after his 8 years of service to the organization.
Not only the LA franchise, but the Heat too had showcased their respect for the 7ft 1″ icon. After the Lakers retired his jersey in 2013, the Heat did the same just three years later in 2016. Recently, the Orlando Magic also decided to retire O’Neal’s jersey which would make him tis jersey first-ever retired one in their organization’s history next month.
This adds more volume to Shaq’s backing of Wade’s achievement. Furthermore, it displayed the bond between them to this day, as the Big Aristotle congratulated the iconic 6ft 4″ guard in his way.
