League-wide jersey retirement has become a hot topic recently, with Shaquille O’Neal the latest Hall of Famer to question Miami’s approach.
Shaq’s No. 32 jersey was retired by the Heat in 2016 due to his accomplishments during his four seasons with the Heat.
The problem he faced was Miami’s decision to retire other people’s jerseys, like Michael Jordan’s No. 23 and Bill Russell’s No. 6, because they never played for the team.
“I hate it when they hang up other people’s jerseys,” O’Neal said on the latest episode. big podcast this week. “I hope I didn’t disrespect anyone with that word.
“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 You do your own thing. But what about the Miami thing? I’m one of the original championship families…it’s our thing. So personally, I don’t like it.”
Of course, the Heat are the only team besides the Bulls to hang Jordan’s jersey from the rafters.
After Bill Russell passed away in 2022, the NBA retired his jerseys from all teams.
As Bam Adebayo explained, another Heat legend, Udonis Haslem, shared similar thoughts on Russell’s jersey with Shaq earlier this week.
“We played Boston, so you know how he (Haslem) feels about it,” Adebayo said Playmaker OG. “So dogs, we huddled together. The captain came in here and gave a pregame speech, and you know they retired Bill Russell’s jersey for everybody in the league. So they’re up to the rafters with us sixth. He Ending his pregame speech, “Fuck Bill Russell too! “I said, ‘Man, this guy is dead, OG.'”
Udonis responded to Bam: “Tell me when you’re going to see a Miami Heat jersey hanging in Boston. I love Bill (Russell). Don’t disrespect Bill. I love you. He just caught a stray one Dog. Do you see a Miami Heat jersey hanging from the rafters in Boston? … Why the hell does he stick around here. What’s going to come out of their people’s mouths when we play there?”
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