The Hall of Fame ceremony this weekend doubled as an unexpected Miami Heat reunion. And it wasn’t just about the famed “Big 3” years with LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh, or even the Redeem Team connections. This one reached further back—into the roots of Heat Culture. With owner Micky Arison taking his rightful place in the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame, figures like Shaquille O’Neal, Alonzo Mourning, and Wade were all in the room, reviving memories of Miami’s first championship run in 2006. Arison himself reflected on that milestone, crediting powerhouse leaders like Shaq and Zo, and the youthful energy of Wade and Udonis Haslem, for setting the standard.

For Heat Nation, though, the real goosebumps came from the reunion moments off stage. Mourning made the trip from Miami, Wade flew in from LA, and Shaq—well, Shaq’s always everywhere—joined in. When a photo of the trio hit social media, fans couldn’t get enough. Mourning added fuel to the nostalgia by sharing the same image with a heartfelt caption: “Always good seeing these two men @dwyanewade and @shaq. We’ve created a bond and some of the best moments in Heat History. Truly a blessing to share the floor with them both. #HEATNATION.”

Among the fans getting sentimental about the trio, D-Wade reciprocrated the love commenting, “Love you Big Zo!” 

Shaq was silent on Zo’s post. Nothing out of the ordinary for him. O’Neal mended his friendship with Mourning before they won the championship together. But he only talks about Zo on podcasts and it’s always the same story. But it never gets boring to hear how his friendship with one of his biggest rivals has grown.

Shaq and Alonzo Mourning have come a long way

When Shaquille O’Neal arrived in the NBA in 1992, he had zeroed in on one rival. Alonzo Mourning had a Big Diesel-sized target on his back from the second he split the Rookie of the Year votes. In 1996, Zo had signed a $105 million contract with the Miami Heat. Knowing he was better than Miami’s new recruit, O’Neal wanted to outdo his rival’s contract. Orlando refused to match Shaq’s demands and he went to LA on a $120 million contract.

After three championships, O’Neal came to Miami with a lot of inhibitions about playing with Alonzo Mourning, a guy he decided he didn’t like for a decade. When they first formed a team, Shaq apologized to Zo for festering that one-sided beef. He went as far as to call himself a “hypocrite.” Mourning was receptive and they went on to form one of the most underrated duos in Miami history.

But they had their fair share of differences as teammates. Especially when Pat Riley paraded Zo shirtless to motivate Shaq into getting into shape. While on the Straight Game Podcast recently, O’Neal revealed how he reacted to one of those times.

“We all know Pat is a stat guy. So one day he brought Alonzo Mourning and me into the office,” Shaq said. “He [Riley] said, ‘Alonzo, take your shirt off.’ And Alonzo was built like a He-Man doll, right? He’s like, ‘I need you to look like this.’ And I was like, oh, motherf—er look good. But then I pulled out my piece of paper on his a–. I said, ‘But let me tell you something. This is how much I average on. 39, 17, and 4. I said he got the six-pack and all that. I like to eat burgers. But this is what I average on him. I’m not doing that.’ So he didn’t like the fact that I would stand up to him.”

That was the most Shaq response. For what it’s worth, it didn’t affect his friendship with Zo. And they maintained their statistical rivalry for as long as they were teammates and have that banter even today.

The Hall of Fame reunion was long overdue to see all of the ’06 legends in one place. Now if only Shaq threw fans a bone.