It’s been 20 years since the Miami Heat won their first championship. Back in those days, the LeBron James-Dwyane Wade-Chris Bosh Big 3 wasn’t even a twinkle in the eye of a South Beach native. It was just a young Wade leading the way with a post-Lakers Shaquille O’Neal, a late-career Gary Payton and an interesting cast of characters.
Advertisement
The title was a shocking one as it happened, because the Mavs, led by Dirk Nowitzki, jumped out to a 2-0 lead. That’s when Wade put on his Superman cape and authored one of the greatest Finals performances in history, leading Miami to four straight wins and a title that still keeps Mark Cuban up at night.
The Heat celebrated the 20th anniversary of that championship by inviting the team back yesterday, and during a press conference with Wade and Shaq, the legendary big man made a confession: that title, his fourth and final one of his career, was his favorite.
“I’mma throw a word out there, and it’s probably gonna shock the basketball world, but it’s my favorite one,” Shaq said. “Because we were not supposed to win, and it was one that I was pressured to win. I needed to get No. 4 before ‘the other guy’ got his fourth.”
The other guy, of course, is Kobe Bryant, whom Shaq paired with to three-peat with the Lakers. Those Lakers teams were dominant, and could have extended their reign even longer, if only Shaq and Kobe had been able to get along. They couldn’t, and their uneasy pairing ended when Shaq was traded to the Heat following a 2004 Finals loss to the Pistons.
That made this one extra sweet for Shaq, since it proved he could win without Kobe. Much like Tom Brady winning a Super Bowl with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers without Bill Belichick, it gave him an edge in the rivalry and a tremendous dose of personal satisfaction.
Wade agreed with Shaq that this title was his favorite, but for a different reason. He had never won a title in his life, not in high school, AAU or college. So 2006 proved that he could do it.
“It’s definitely my favorite,” he said. “It was the one of my three that I was the leading man, that’s self-explanatory … It was the first time in my life that I showed myself that I could actually lead a team to help win a championship, because I didn’t know.”
Shaq has given different answers on this topic before, and it seems to be dependent on where he is and who’s asking him. Since this was a celebration of the ’06 title, and he was there with the rest of his former teammates, it makes sense why he’d say that this championship was his favorite.
A few years ago, though, Shaq said that like Wade, his first title was his favorite, “Because so many people thought it would never happen.” Back in 2000, Shaq had only been to the Finals once, and he and the Orlando Magic had been humbled by Hakeem Olajuwon and the Rockets in 1995. In 2000, he finally got over the hump, and started a dynasty in the process.
It’s difficult to blame Shaq for switching his answers, because clearly every ring means so much. Besides, could he really say a Lakers ring was his favorite when he’s in Miami celebrating with his Heat teammates? That wouldn’t have gone over well, and above all else, Shaq has always been a people pleaser. Let’s let the big man have this one.
