Shaquille O’Neal dawned the Miami Heat uniform for 4 seasons during his 19-year career and even led them to an NBA championship in 2006. However, Shaq’s love for his former team is not why he wants Jimmy Butler and co. to defeat the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. The Diesel’s reason for wanting the Heat to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals is simple – so he gets to enjoy the comfort of his house and the Florida sun.
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Despite Erik Spoelstra’s boys’ Game 5 loss at the Maddison Square Garden, they are heavily favored to win the series. And when they do end up clinching a spot in the conference finals, the Big Aristotle cannot wait to dive into the waters of the Miami ocean.
Why is Shaquille O’Neal rooting for the Miami Heat?
While fans often support a team on the basis of its players, the 7-foot-1 analyst is cheering for a team because of their location.
On the recent episode of “The Big Podcast with Shaq”, O’Neal had an odd reason behind rooting for the Florida-based franchise. When host Nischelle Turner asked the 51-year-old for his purpose for doing so, he answered by disclosing his love for the city.
“I’d rather just stay at the crib for 2 days and just get in the ocean and train. Who wants to go to New York and Boston or New York and Philly? Not me. I’d rather go sun, back to where we’re going, sun, back to where we’re going.”
Selecting the Heat to advance to the ECF, the Hall-Of-Famer also gave his predictions for the winner of the Sixers-Celtics battle. After showing his faith in Joel Embiid’s Sixers, the 4-time NBA champ joked about working out in Miami and stuffing himself with cheesesteaks in Pennsylvania.
“I think it’s going to be Miami and Philly. I wouldn’t mind working out 3 days in a row and then cheating, going get them Philly cheesesteaks.”
Miami Heat’s “unexpected” deep postseason run
The Miami Heat finished the 2022-2023 regular season with a subpar 44-38 record.
After losing to Trae Young’s Atlanta Hawks, Jimmy Butler and co. managed to grab a huge win against the Chicago Bulls to clinch the #8 seed in the Eastern Conference.
Despite advancing to the postseason, very few analysts and enthusiasts backed them to defeat the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round. Much to everyone’s surprise, thanks to Jimmy Bucket’s 37.6 points, 6 rebounds, and 4.8 assists per game against Giannis Antetokounmpo and co., the Heat won 4-1.
As they hold on to a 3-2 lead in the ECSF, Miami’s quest of becoming the 2nd #8 team in NBA history to reach the NBA Finals is very much alive.
