Former NBA Center Shaquille O'Neal Made A Big Sacrifice for Dwyane Wade's Career
O'Neal turned down $20 million to help Wade and the Heat win a championship
Former NBA player Shaquille O’Neal had one of the most dominant and decorated careers in sports history. But after a successful tenure with the Los Angeles Lakers, he had to make sacrifices once he joined the Miami Heat in 2005.
On a recent episode of Udonis Haslem and Mike Miller’s The OGs podcast, O’Neal revealed that he took a huge paycut after losing in the Eastern Conference Finals during his first year in Miami.
“Pat [Riley] came in, and he said, ‘Shaq, I love you. I can give you the whole 120, and we can have nobody, or I can give you 100. Get UD [Udonis Haslem] some more money; I can bring in [James] Posey; I can bring in GP [Gary Payton]; I can bring in all those guys.’ And I was like, ‘You know what? I need to win.” - O’Neal
During the 2004-05 season, O’Neal averaged 22.9 points, 10.4 rebounds, and 2.3 blocks. Along with rising superstar Dwyane Wade and coach Stan Van Gundy, he helped lead them to the playoffs, where they swept the New Jersey Nets and Washington Wizards in the first two rounds. While going up against the Detroit Pistons in the Conference Finals, Wade and O’Neal combined for 46.4 points per game but lost 4-3.
However, things increasingly changed the following year. Even though O’Neal was accustomed to being the focal point of NBA teams, he allowed Wade to carry more responsibility. Throughout the 2005-06 campaign, Wade’s scoring numbers took a spark as he averaged a team-high 27.2 points, all while also logging in 5.7 rebounds, 6.7 assists, and 1.9 steals a game.
Once the 2006 playoffs arrived, he showed that he was ready to be a leader. During those playoffs, he recorded 28.4 points, 5.9 rebounds, 5.7 assists, 2.2 steals, and 1.1 blocks per contest. His efforts helped the Heat make their first Finals appearance, where they were matched up with the Dirk Nowitzki-led Dallas Mavericks. After losing the first two games, the Heat won the next four to win the championship. In that series alone, Wade averaged 34.7 points, 7.8 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 2.7 steals, and 1.0 blocks, helping him win Finals MVP.
Although O’Neal’s presence was still important, his sacrifice brought Wade and the Heat historic success.
Cory Nelson is a contributor to Fansided’s Wiz of Awes. He attended Northern Virginia Community College. He can be reached at corymckenzienelson@hotmail.com or follow him on Twitter @CKenzyNelson, Instagram @ckenzynelson, and Threads @ckenzynelson