NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal has a beef with one of his former teams.
O’Neal disliked the Miami Heat, where he spent four seasons and retired the jerseys of Michael Jordan and Bill Russell because neither played for the team.
“I hate it when they hang up other people’s jerseys. I hope I’m not disrespecting anyone by using that word,” O’Neal said on the latest episode of “The BIG Podcast.”.
“This thing is ours. This is what we built. Michael Jordan never played for the Heat. Bill Russell never played for the Heat. You and your little Celtics family and Chicago Family did your own thing.
“But the Miami thing? I’m one of the original championship families…it’s our thing. So, I personally don’t like that.”
O’Neal was a key player in the Heat’s first NBA championship in 2006, averaging 20.0 points and 9.2 rebounds per game, including 18.4 points and 9.8 rebounds in the playoffs.
He is one of five players, including Alonzo Mourning, Tim Hardaway, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade, to have their jerseys retired by the Miami Heat.
Udonis Haslem, who shares O’Neal’s sentiments about Bill Russell’s jersey in the Heat rafters, will be the sixth player selected in January. Jordan and Russell are the only non-Heat players to have their jerseys retired.
After Russell’s death, his No. 6 jersey was retired by all 32 teams in the league in 2022. Only Miami and Jordan’s Chicago Bulls have retired their No. 23 jerseys.