Shaquille O’Neal was traded away from the Los Angeles Lakers in the summer of 2004 after Jerry Buss chose to keep the younger Kobe Bryant as the franchise cornerstone. O’Neal won three straight Finals MVPs with the purple and gold and now that he was traded to the Miami Heat, he looked to capture yet another one.
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In his very first year with the Heat, he took them to the Eastern Conference Finals and lost to the Detroit Pistons. Following this loss, Shaq conceded his primary offensive role to Dwyane Wade. In Wade’s third season in the NBA i.e., 2005-06, the Heat would win the championship. D-Wade would win FMVP instead of Shaq.
However, as Shaq started to slip in productivity, so did the Heat’s chances to contend for a championship. In between the 2007-08 season, Pat Riley and company would trade him to the Phoenix Suns and he would never wear a Heat uniform ever again.
Dwyane Wade ‘tries’ to recruit Shaquille O’Neal once again to the Heat
The summer of 2010 was seemingly one of the most destructive offseasons in the history of the NBA. Dwyane Wade had succeeded in bringing not just Chris Bosh but LeBron James to the Miami Heat. He would go on to perhaps allude towards wanting another Hall-of-Famer that same summer.
While on the ‘Tonight Show with Jay Leno’, Wade pulled out a jersey for Leno. The jersey would coincidentally be the one Shaquille O’Neal wore, number 32, for the Miami Heat when he was there but with his name replaced with legendary comedian, Don Rickles.
At the time, many believed this was a sly way of the Marquette alum trying to recruit his old number 2 option back to Miami. Shaq however, wouldn’t budge. He signed a 2-year deal with the Boston Celtics instead.
Shaquille O’Neal would retire the very next offseason
Shaquille O’Neal, as mentioned above, would sign a 2-year deal with the Boston Celtics in the summer of 2010. However, during the 2010-11 season, he would suffer an Achilles injury that would keep him out for the Playoffs that year.
After 19 years in the NBA, the 350lb center had finally sustained an injury that would keep him out of play for good. Despite the 2-year deal, he would retire as a Boston Celtic. Quite ironic given that the highest point of his career came with the Los Angeles Lakers.
