“I’mma bring a championship to Miami, I promise”: 7-foot-1 Shaquille O’Neal made a promise after getting traded from Lakers and fulfilled it in 2006

7-foot-1 Shaquille O’Neal made a promise to the city of Miami upon getting traded from the Lakers and fulfilled the same.

The summer of 2004 was crucial for the cities of Los Angeles and Miami. The Los Angeles Lakers had won three rings in a row before being handed a gentlemen’s sweep in 2004. The dynamic duo of Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal ran their course, and now, there was a lot of tension in the locker room.

The front office had to pick between a star guard entering his ninth season or a dominant 7-foot-1 big entering his 12th season. They chose to stay with the former and decided they had to part ways with Shaq.

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The Heat sent a package having Caron Butler, Lamar Odom, Brian Grant, and a future first-round draft pick (Jordan Farmar) in exchange for the Diesel. When the big guy made his way to the 305, the first thing he did was make a promise to the fans.

Shaquille O’Neal promised Miami their first ring and helped deliver the same

In the summer of 2004, Shaquille O’Neal was sent from Tinseltown to the 305. After helping the Lakers three-peat, he didn’t expect the same but decided to take on the new challenge. In LA, he had a power struggle with Kobe. Here he decided to let Dwyane Wade take over things here and play a more supporting role.

As soon as he came to Miami, the first thing he did was promise the city that he would help them win their first championship. He delivered the same two years later.

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Shaq helped Miami take down Dirk Nowitzki and the Mavericks to win Heat their first NBA Championship.