Shaquille O’Neal Showcased ‘Heat Culture’ by Allowing Dwyane Wade to Fight His Own Teammate

Published 03/30/2022, 12:30 PM EDT

After departing from the Lakers, Shaquille O’Neal would team up with Dwyane Wade in Miami. With the aim to seek a title win after a disappointing loss to the Pistons during Shaq’s prior finals matchup, the big man played an important role alongside Wade. Together they would rise over the rest of the league in the 2005-06 season.

Moreover, this title win gave the Heat its first-ever championship in the franchise’s history. It was truly an iconic moment for Heat fans all over the world.

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However, like every team, fights do take place within the franchise. It’s not always rosy, as one might expect to see from the outside looking in. But altercations don’t necessarily lead to championship losses. This is especially true about the Miami Heat, and it is what Shaq addressed on ‘NBA on TNT‘.

Shaquille O’Neal on the Miami Heat Culture

In a recent discussion with Dwyane Wade, Candace Parker, and Adam Lefkoe, Shaq and the crew reviewed the bench altercation between Jimmy Butler and coach Erik Spoelstra. Thereafter, they even watched clips of similar altercations from Dwyane Wade’s time in 2006 and when Shaq was on the team.

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In light of this, Shaq explained why he did not interfere with the altercation between Wade and his teammate. He stated that the event gave the Heat ‘a spark’ and explained that teams can win titles despite having fights and conflicts.

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“We all know my story in LA. Won 3 in a row. Me and him (Dwyane Wade), we never had a fallout. They had a fallout. I backed out. I let them handle it,” said Shaq.

“We landed, we went to dinner, we still going at it. We laughed. Boom! Next day, we came into practice, we were serious and we won,” he added.

“The reason why I didn’t jump in is because I know this is what we needed. We were way too cool for school down there,” he explained.

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Clearly, Shaq cites evidence of the fact that even title winning squads can have internal issues. However, as long as the goal in mind is the title itself, everyone remains united. This is, in fact, the culture of championship winning teams like the Miami Heat.

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Written by:

Sameer is an NBA writer at EssentiallySports. Having graduated from Manipal Institute of Technology, he has always had a keen interest in basketball and the numbers behind the game. With a goal to become a Sports Performance Analyst for a professional sports team, Sameer brings insights backed by data.

Edited by:

Arunaditya Aima

Shaquille O’Neal Showcased ‘Heat Culture’ by Allowing Dwyane Wade to Fight His Own Teammate

Shaquille O’Neal on the Miami Heat Culture

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