MIAMI — In the pantheon of NBA legends, few resumes sparkle quite like Shaquille O’Neal’s. Four championships, three Finals MVPs, and a tenure with the Los Angeles Lakers that redefined dominance. Yet, in a revelation that has sent shockwaves through the basketball community, the “Big Diesel” has officially declared that his favorite championship isn’t one of the three he won alongside Kobe Bryant in Hollywood.

Instead, it is the 2006 title with the Miami Heat—a gritty, unexpected triumph born from chaos, “misfits,” and intense internal pressure.

The “Shocking” Revelation

Speaking alongside his former teammate Dwyane Wade as the Heat organization prepares to honor the 20th anniversary of that historic 2006 squad, Shaq didn’t mince words.

“I’m going to throw a word out there and it’s probably going to shock the basketball world,” O’Neal said. “It’s my favorite one.”

For casual fans, this might seem absurd. The Lakers’ three-peat (2000-2002) was a display of pure, unadulterated power. Shaq was at his physical apex, destroying backboards and opponents alike. But for O’Neal, the emotional weight of 2006—and the narrative surrounding it—made it sweeter.

“We were not supposed to win,” Shaq admitted. “And it was one that I was pressured to win. I needed to get number four before the other guy got his fourth.”

The “other guy,” of course, being Kobe Bryant. The bitter dissolution of the Lakers dynasty had left a chip on Shaq’s shoulder the size of a boulder. The race to four rings was personal, a validation of his legacy independent of the purple and gold.

A Team of “Misfits” and Fistfights

The 2006 Miami Heat were not the well-oiled machine the Lakers were. They were a collection of veterans past their prime and a young superstar in the making, all thrown together under the watchful eye of Pat Riley. Shaq described the team dynamic with brutal honesty.

“We were a bunch of misfits that used to argue and fight and do things very untraditionally,” he recalled. “We probably had about 40 fights. Seriously, like 40 fights.”

But unlike other dysfunctional teams where silence breeds resentment, this volatility was their fuel. O’Neal contrasted it with other stops in his career where beefs would linger for months. In Miami, they would brawl in the locker room or on the bus, but by the time dinner rolled around, they were laughing together.

The Gary Payton Interventio

Perhaps the most telling anecdote Shaq shared involved “The Glove,” Gary Payton. Down 0-2 in the Finals against Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks, the Heat looked dead in the water. Shaq, struggling to impose his will, was confronted by Payton in a moment that changed the series.

“Gary busted my room,” Shaq laughed, recounting the story. “He said, ‘You ain’t the Shaq no more! We need to get D-Wade the ball!'”

The confrontation was heated. Shaq, proud and dominant, initially pushed back, demanding the ball for Game 3. But Payton, desperate for his first ring, didn’t back down. He cursed Shaq out, forcing the big man to accept a hard truth: it was Dwyane Wade’s time.

“I called him and cursed him out,” Shaq said. “Then I called Dwyane and asked, ‘So what you going to do?’ And he’s like, ‘Big fella, I’m looking for you, don’t look for me. Just shoot the ball.'”

That shift in ego allowed Wade to unleash a “Jordan-esque” performance, carrying the Heat to four straight wins and the franchise’s first championship.

Wade’s Perspective: “I Never Won Nothing”

For Dwyane Wade, the 2006 title holds an equally special place, but for different reasons.

“It’s my favorite one… because I didn’t know,” Wade reflected. “I never won in high school. I didn’t win in college; I got to the Final Four. So it was the first time in my life that I showed myself that I can actually lead a team to help win a championship.”

That victory established “Heat Culture.” It was the foundation upon which the LeBron James era would later be built. As Shaq noted, “Without this championship, it ain’t no culture.”

The Legacy of 2006

Shaq’s admission adds a fascinating layer to NBA history. It humanizes a giant who often seemed invincible. It reveals that for all the physical dominance, the mental battles—the pressure to beat Kobe, the need to adapt to a secondary role, the management of a volatile locker room—were the true tests of his greatness.

The 2006 Miami Heat might not be remembered as the greatest team ever assembled, but for Shaquille O’Neal, they were the most meaningful. They were the ones who fought, argued, and clawed their way to the top when the world had written them off.

And in the end, that fourth ring didn’t just add to the jewelry collection; it brought peace to a legend who needed to prove he could win on his own terms.