The Miami Heat retired the number 32 jersey of former center Shaquille O'Neal on Thursday night during a halftime ceremony as the Miami Heat hosted the Los Angeles Lakers at American Airlines Arena. It was the third uniform the Heat franchise had retired following number 33 Alonzo Mourning and number 10 Tim Hardaway. O'Neal played at one time for both clubs in his 19-year NBA career and was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame earlier this year.
He was acquired by the Heat from the Lakers after the 2003-04 season. O'Neal showed up at a ceremony outside the arena on his arrival to South Florida and he promised the crowd that he would bring an NBA championship to Miami. O'Neal teamed up with guard Dwyane Wade and helped the Heat win their first NBA title in 2005-06 as they defeated the Dallas Mavericks in six games. He played just four seasons with Miami before he was traded to the Phoenix Suns in February 2008.
He did win three NBA championships with the Los Angeles Lakers from 2000 until 2002 as he collaborated with guard Kobe Bryant. O'Neal did get an Eastern Conference title with the Orlando Magic in 1995 and a Western Conference title with the Lakers in 2004. He has worked as a studio analyst on Inside The NBA at Turner Broadcasting for the past six years.
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