The Miami Heat announced on Tuesday that they will will retire Shaquille O'Neal's number 32 at the beginning of the 2016-17 season.
O'Neal was part of Miami's first championship team back in 2006, and still is near the top of several team records to this day. Among those marks are field-goal percentage (.596) which O'Neal actually holds the top spot in. The Hall of Fame nominee also ranks third in scoring average, fifth in blocks, and seventh in free-throw attempts.
Besides his strong production, O'Neal also served as a mentor for Dwyane Wade while with Miami. O'Neal's tenure with the Heat began during the 2004-05 season when Wade was still a baby faced new entry into the league. While Wade came in with immense talent, he was able to take his game to another level quickly while playing alongside a center such as O'Neal.
“Shaquille O’Neal is one of the truly elite players in the history of the game and one of the greatest players to ever wear a Heat uniform,” said team president Pat Riley in a statement announcing the number retirement.
O'Neal's time in Miami came to a close during the 2007-08 campaign when the Heat traded him to the Phoenix Suns. It was a move that was necessitated by a dismal 9-37 record at the time. O'Neal's career would keep going for a few more years in multiple stops, before he hung up his basketball shorts for good in 2011.
For the Heat, O'Neal's jersey will be the third retired in franchise history. Alonzo Mourning's #33 and Tim Hardaway's #10 currently hang in the rafters of AmericanAirlines Arena.
