Shaquille O’Neal had a concise three-word message for Dwyane Wade after signing for the Miami Heat in 2004. In fact, the Big Diesel had learned from his mistakes with Kobe Bryant in LA and Penny Hardaway in Orlando. Therefore, Shaquille O’Neal wanted to make sure that he didn’t repeat the same mistakes in the Sunshine State.
Shaquille O’Neal is widely accepted as the most dominant player in the history of basketball. However, that didn’t exempt the 7’1″ giant from facing friction in his own team. As a matter of fact, the 4-time NBA champion played in the same team as some of the greatest players of all time.
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As a result, there was always a tacit scuffle for power in the team. In other words, Shaquille O’Neal had to deal with a lot of internal conflicts in his team. Therefore, he decided to make the necessary amends immediately after arriving in Miami.
Shaquille O’Neal had a three-word message for Dwyane Wade
Shaquille O’Neal told Dwyane Wade three precise words immediately after arriving at South Beach. “It’s your team,” Shaq revealed in an interview.
“I was tired of it,”?explained the Lakers legend. “So when I got to Miami, I just gave it up.”
“Your team. I’m the big advisor. I’m following you,” he added,
Incidentally, Shaq and Kobe had a very public fallout during their last days playing together for the Lakers. The scuffle didn’t take long to take a very ugly turn.
Soon, both parties were mudslinging at each other in the media. As it turns out, Shaq had a problem with Kobe’s ball-hogging. On the other hand, Kobe had a problem with Shaq’s work ethic.
But at the bottom of it was a tussle for power. Both players had a legitimate claim to be the centerpiece of the franchise.
However, Shaquille O’Neal had displayed more dominance for the LA team. In fact, he had bagged all the MVPs in the Lakers’ three-peat from 2000 to 2002.
Shaq at Miami
Shaquille O’Neal didn’t want a similar conflict in Miami. Therefore, he gave up the keys to the house from the jump.
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Incidentally, Shaq won his fourth championship with the Heat in 2006. And Dwyane Wade became the MVP of the Finals.
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