Shaquille O’Neal and Miami Heat commemorate the 20th anniversary of their 2006 NBA championship.

MIAMI — Shaquille O’Neal was part of four NBA championship squads. Now, two decades after his final title, he has identified one that stands out as his favorite.

That title was won with the Miami Heat.

This week, the Heat commemorated their 2006 championship team with a two-day, 20th anniversary celebration, featuring a gala on Monday and an on-court event for fans during their home game against Atlanta on Tuesday night. Most of the team members were present, including O’Neal, who shared what might be a somewhat unexpected perspective on that championship journey.

“I’m going to mention a word that might surprise the basketball community,” O’Neal stated. “It’s my favorite because we weren’t expected to win, and I felt a strong pressure to succeed. I needed to achieve this before the other guy secured his fourth.”

20 years later…

The 2006 @MiamiHEAT championship team is honored at halftime in Miami 🔥 pic.twitter.com/JIIjgkY1zU

— NBA (@NBA) February 4, 2026

The “other guy” O’Neal referred to was Kobe Bryant. Together, they won three titles with the Los Angeles Lakers, but their relationship soured, leading to O’Neal’s trade to Miami in the summer of 2004.

Bryant eventually won his fourth and fifth titles, surpassing O’Neal, and the two former teammates-turned-rivals reconciled to some degree before Bryant, along with his daughter Gianna and seven others, tragically passed away in a helicopter crash six years ago.

At that time, O’Neal felt immense pressure to secure a title without Bryant. The Heat, during that period, were a volatile group that managed to defy expectations.

“We were a collection of misfits who often argued and fought, doing things in a very unconventional manner,” O’Neal recalled, estimating that the Heat experienced around 40 internal disputes that season, all of which were resolved quickly. “But we always got along, and that’s what made it unique.”

This was the mentality of the 2006 Heat, which is why O’Neal did not take it to heart when Miami lost the first two games of that season’s NBA Finals against the Dallas Mavericks. O’Neal recounted how Gary Payton, a guard on that Miami team, confronted him after Game 2, insisting that Dwyane Wade needed more opportunities if the Heat were to win the series.

“I decided to stir things up,” Payton confirmed, stating that he approached coach Pat Riley to request adjustments and then told O’Neal it was time for Wade to take the lead for the Heat.

Wade excelled in the following four games. Payton made a crucial shot that helped Miami secure Game 3. The Heat clinched the title in six games. The conflicts ultimately led to a celebratory parade. It was all worthwhile.

“We had an ideal eight-man rotation,” Riley remarked. “I apologize to Nos. 9 through 15, but they used to dominate these guys in practice every day, and I can assure you that made them better.”

Thus, O’Neal’s last of his four titles became his favorite.

For Wade, the first of his three titles holds the same distinction.

“I never won in high school, and I didn’t win in college — I reached the Final Four. I was that guy who came close,” Wade explained. “In AAU, I reached the Final Four and played in the championship, but I never won. So, that was the first time in my life that I proved to myself that I could actually lead a team to a championship because I didn’t know. Therefore, it would be my favorite for that reason.”

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, who served as an assistant under Riley on that 2006 team, expressed his excitement about having most of the team reunited for two days. He, along with Riley, the ownership group led by managing general partner Micky Arison and CEO Nick Arison, executive vice president and general manager Andy Elisburg, and several other executives (including 2006 players Alonzo Mourning and Udonis Haslem) and team officials, remain in Miami — a factor Spoelstra believes distinguishes the Heat.

“Other teams that have won championships often try to reunite a group, but it’s likely a different ownership group, different management, different coaching staff, and many other changes,” Spoelstra noted. “But this brings you back. It’s like an instant time machine. It was an incredible journey and it kind of placed our franchise on a different level in this league.”

Coaches, executives, and nearly all of the players from that 2006 team were introduced at halftime for an on-court ceremony on Tuesday, all donning custom jackets to commemorate that championship.

“This will always be everyone’s favorite because it was the first one, and it established the standard that we continue to uphold here,” Wade stated. “This set the benchmark because without this championship, there is no culture. And that’s how we can even stand on ‘Heat Culture’ and the phrases we use because of the championship that was brought here in ’06.”

Additionally, O’Neal, known for his humor, fulfilled a 20-year bet with Wade and Haslem. He had promised to gift them Bentleys if the Heat won that title. He presented them with toy versions of the Bentleys at halftime on Tuesday.

“Are you not entertained?” O’Neal inquired, as the crowd erupted in cheers.