Before the statue in front of STAPLES Center is unveiled, SHAQ managed to get a present from another team he won a championship for: the Miami Heat.
Tonight at American Airlines Arena, the organization retired his jersey from the rafters in a glorious ceremony celebrating the 2006 championship.
Pat Riley took the podium to talk about what it was like to sign the Big Diesel and what he promised to the city of Miami. He said how much of a “once in a lifetime player” he is and re-lived the good times of SHAQ rubbing his ring before every game that season. By the time SHAQ got on the microphone, he gave props to Udonis Haslem and Alonzo Mourning (and even D-Wade) for being part of that special team.
If you missed the ceremony before tonight’s game, you can watch it up top.
OS REWIND: SHAQ Gets Dunked On by Son Shareef O’Neal