Years After Shaquille O’Neal Got Himself Traded For ‘Nearly Fighting’ Pat Riley, Dwyane Wade Gets ‘Cocky’ Congratulatory Message From The Lakers Legend

Following a tough fallout with Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers, Shaquille O’Neal was acquired by the Miami Heat in the summer of 2004. With Dwayne Wade establishing himself as one of the best young talents in the league, everyone expected the dynamic duo to win a title. In only their second season as teammates, Wade and Shaq managed to co-lead the Florida side to the franchise’s first-ever Championship win in 2006. During their time as teammates, the superstars built a solid bond together. O’Neal, who got traded from the Heat for fighting with Pat Riley, recently revealed that he always knew D-Wade was destined to join him in the Naismith Memorial Hall-Of-Fame.

During Shaq’s tenure in Florida, the Miami Heat were one of the best teams in the league. Finishing first in their division all three years, the Heat were title contenders each time. However, despite being a powerhouse, Pat Riley decided to trade Shaq away in the midst of the 2007-2008 season. The reason behind the same? Shaq had a fractured relationship with Riley. Their deteriorating bond motivated the Heat to send their star Center to the Phoenix Suns.

Shaquille O’Neal boasts being the first person to predict Wade’s Hall-Of-Fame enshrinement

Dwyane Wade is one of the legends part of the 2023 Hall-Of-Fame Class. A day prior to the enshrinement, the Miami Heat shared a congratulatory video for Wade. In the 5:24 minutes clip, several teammates and coaches of the Marquette alum have been congratulating him.

The likes of LeBron James, Udonis Haslem, Shane Battier, Erik Spoelstra, and Jimmy Butler among many others spoke about the man of honor. Shaquille O’Neal was one of the many who was part of the video. While the others congratulated the three-time Champ for this special achievement, Shaq was slightly cocky. According to the Big Aristotle, he was the first one who believed that Wade would be a member of the Hall of Fame.

“I knew it was coming before anybody else.”

A teammate. A friend. A family member. Much love, @DwyaneWade ❤️ #WadeHOF pic.twitter.com/PDCqC3BVCo

— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) August 10, 2023

To be fair, Shaq had front-row seats to Wade’s greatness during his best years. He could’ve very well been the first person to have predicted the long list of accolades Dwayne gathered in his distinguished career – 13 All-Star appearances, a scoring title, three Championships, and a Finals MVP.

Shaq once explained why he called Dwyane Wade “The Flash”

Clearly, Shaq was a huge fan of Dwayne Wade as soon as they teamed up. In a clip posted by NBA History, O’Neal is heard explaining how Wade’s iconic nickname – “The Flash” – was inspired.

“First thing we had to do, was get people to notice who he is. I was looking at him, and he stole the ball, and he ‘woosh’ took off. I’m like, ‘Damn! Did you see that? That dude was like Flash!’. Ding! That’s what we’re going to call him. ‘Flash’. See, you always have to have an alter ego. See, on the regular he is ‘Dwyane Wade’. He could go 1 for 13, but once he hits that one bucket, then he turns into Flash.”

O’Neal was always one of Wade’s biggest supporters. It is heartwarming to see the camaraderie that they still share after all these years.