Revisiting 2006 NBA Finals: How Dwyane Wade and Shaquille O'Neal joined forces to bring up Miami Heat's first title win
After joining the NBA in 1988-89 as an expansion team, the Miami Heat winning the championship in 2006 vs. Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks was pretty unexpected.
Expansion teams usually go through the growing pains of settling down because of roster deficiencies, and during that span, losing is fairly common. Dwyane Wade and Shaquille O'Neal were able to change that narrative rather quickly and gave the NBA title to South Beach in its 18th season.
How did this legendary basketball union happen? Let's get into it without further ado.
Dwyane Wade won his first of three rings in Miami on this day in 2006
⚡️ Finals MVP at 24: 34.7 PPG/7.8 RPG/2.7 SPG
⚡️ Heat's first-ever championship in franchise history
⚡️ Averaged 39.3 PPG after going down 0-2 vs. the Mavs https://t.co/yi33YWH4bX
Dwyane Wade the great
Dwyane Wade's rookie year of 2003-04 saw him score a respectable 16 points a game. The following season, Wade's scoring increased to 24 points per game. Flash also added seven assists and five rebounds. He became a legitimate star who needed help if Miami was to return to a sense of team relevance.
Kobe and Shaq
From 1996 to 2004 Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal were an NBA superpower. The best duo since Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen three-peated from 2000-02 and also lost to the Detroit Pistons in the NBA Finals in '04.
As the two superstars grew apart philosophically - while still winning - something had to give, Phil Jackson wasn't brought back, Mitch Kupchak got what he wanted in trading Shaq, and Kobe was extended.
The Diesel to South Beach
Shaq signed a five-year, 100 million dollar deal with the Miami Heat that sent Lamar Odom, Caron Butler and Brian Grant a first-round pick and a second-round pick to the Los Angeles Lakers. Miami went 59-23 that season and won the Southeast Division title. In the playoffs, the Miami Heat swept the New Jersey Nets and the Washington Wizards in the first two rounds before losing in seven to the Eastern Conference champion Detroit Pistons. Next season it would all come together.
A Miami Heat NBA championship run
The Miami Heat went 52-30 in '05-'06 to claim another division title. Shaq was named to the NBA All-Star team and averaged 20.0 points, 9.2 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.8 blocks per game. Dwyane Wade had a monster year at 27.2 points, 5.7 rebounds and 6.7 assists per game, and was also an all-star.
In the playoffs, the Miami Heat beat the Bulls in six in the first round, the New Jersey Nets in the second round in five, and then beat the Detroit Pistons in the Eastern Conference Finals in five games to advance to the NBA Finals. After losing the first two games 90-80 and 99-85, it appeared the Dallas Mavericks would sweep the Miami Heat, but Dwyane Wade went off. A 24 year old phenom, Wade scored 42, 36, 43, 36 in the next 4 games to defeat the Dallas Mavericks in 6. That's an average of 39 points on 51% shooting.
It seemed like he was on the line the next four games every time you looked up. and Wade was named Finals MVP for averaging 34 points, eight boards, four assists, three steals and a block.
Dwyane Wade is tied (Jerry West) for second all-time with 75 free throws made in the NBA Finals. Hall of Fame legend Elgin Baylor is the record holder with 82 made in 1962 (West made 72 in same Finals. and has three other appearances in the top 10).
June 2, 2006: Miami #Heat clinched their 1st NBA Finals appearance in franchise history after a dominant 95-78 victory in Eastern Conference Finals Game 6 over the Detroit Pistons behind a 28-PT/16-REB performance from Shaquille O’Neal
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Dwyane Wade and Shaquille O'Neal
Many say that Shaq rode Dwyane Wade to the NBA Finals and eventual championship. Many also say that Steve Nash's MVP trophies belong to Shaq, who was obviously the missing piece for the Miami Heat. Both could be true depending on your perspective. As far as the Miami Heat chip run, add in the valid contributions of Antoine Walker, Gary Payton and James Posey, and South Beach historically rejoices.
Shaq and Wade got along during their time together, and the move to the Miami Heat seemed to have worked out for Shaq after all the drama in LA. Shaq has played alongside Penny Hardaway, Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade and LeBron James throughout his illustrious NBA career. Though his time with the Miami Heat was short, that fourth ring was huge for Shaq's legacy. For Wade, the championship with Shaq was just a taste of the shine he'd receive in Miami just a few years later with LeBron James and Chris Bosh.