Shaquille O’Neal is one of the NBA’s all-time great centers. He was part of four NBA championships, including three straight with the Los Angeles Lakers from 2000 to 2002 and with the Miami Heat in 2006. On Thursday, the Heat retired Shaq’s No. 32 jersey and hung it in the rafters at American Airlines Arena.
The ceremony took place during halftime of the matchup -- coincidentally enough -- between the Heat and the Lakers. During the commemoration, Shaq brought up current and former Miami teammates Alonzo Mourning and Udonis Haslem.
Shaq, who played with the Heat for three-and-a-half seasons between 2004-2008, thanked both Haslem and Mourning for being consummate professionals, and said he couldn’t have helped the Heat win the Larry O’Brien Trophy in 2006 without both players.
The TNT analyst then moved on to praise Pat Riley, Miami’s fans, the Arison family, and mentioned that he was disappointed Chicago Bulls guard Dwyane Wade couldn’t be there to see his jersey raised to the rafters.
It was a special night in Miami, and Shaq will forever have his imprint on that franchise.
Plus, check out the Hall of Fame ring Shaq wore to this thing:
Hahahaha!!! pic.twitter.com/tIHelxYWqg
— Timmy Meintasis (@TimmyMeintasis) December 23, 2016
Good on the Heat for retiring the Hall of Fame center’s jersey.