“They ain’t never played for..” Shaquille O’Neal disagrees with the Heat retiring Michael Jordan and Bill Russell’s number

Heat's decision to retire Michael Jordan and Bill Russell's jerseys does not seem to be right to Shaquille O'Neal.

“They ain’t never played for..” Shaquille O’Neal disagrees with the Heat retiring Michael Jordan and Bill Russell’s number

Shaquille O'Neal does not agree with the Miami Heat's decisions to retire the jerseys of Michael Jordan and Bill Russell (image via Open Source, X)

Miami Heat legend Shaquille O’Neal was speaking on his show The Big Podcast with Shaq, alongside co-host Adam Lefkoe and Udonis Haslem, the long-time Heat player was a guest on the show.

Lefkoe asked O’Neal about his opinion on the Miami Heat retiring the jerseys of Michael Jordan and Bill Russell. O’Neal had this to say;

This thing is ours. This is what we built. Michael Jordan ain’t never play for the Heat. Bill Russell ain’t never play for the Heat. But this Miami thing? ... this is our thing. So, I don’t like that personally.

Shaquille O’Neal added that he and other Heat players Dwayne Wade, and Alonzo Mourning had their jerseys retired as they were the first to bring a championship to the franchise. This conversation came during discussions about the upcoming jersey retirement of Udonis Haslem. Haslem played for the Heat for 20 years.

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Legendary coach Pat Riley and the Miami Heat retired Michael Jordan’s jersey in the year 2003 as a tribute to Jordan’s exemplary career. This was the first jersey the Heat retired a jersey since they were established as an expansion franchise in 1988. Bill Russell’s No. 6 jersey was retired by the NBA league-wide after he died in 2022. Hence, Heat had no option but to abide by the rule.

The Miami Heat have retired the numbers of O’Neal, Wade, Mourning, Tim Hardaway, and Chris Bosh to date. With Haslem up next, it will be a total of 6 Heat players who have had their jerseys retired.

Shaquille O’Neal helped make the Heat one of the best

Shaquille O’Neal was traded to the Miami Heat in 2004. He promised the fans that he would bring a championship to Miami. Since then, he played at an elite level and finished close in the MVP votes in 2005 and 06.

Shaquille O'Neal had his jersey retired by the Miami Heat and the Los Angeles Lakers
Shaquille O’Neal had his jersey retired by the Miami Heat and the Los Angeles Lakers (Image via NBA)

Along with Wade, Mourning, Haslem, and others, O’Neal fulfilled the promise he made. They beat Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks to win the first championship in Miami Heat history. O’Neal missed on his fourth finals MVP to Wade. But his combination with the franchise icon made the Heat a destination for top-tier basketball.

O’Neal could not understand how the Heat could retire the number of players who have not contributed to the success of the franchise. According to him, only those players’ numbers should be in the rafters who have helped build the Miami Heat legacy.

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