Shaquille O’Neal cools down with Alonzo Mourning on Old Beef

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Shaquille O’Neal #32 of the Miami Heat sit on the bench

Shaquille O’Neal became a key player for the Miami Heat on their journey to an NBA championship in 2006. Dwyane Wade recently commented on the positive impact O’Neal had on the Heat, and almost immediately when the duo found Larry O ‘ Brien Championship Trophy to South Beach in a recent appearance at Andre Igoudala, the former Heat playerpoint forward’ podcast.

“When Shaq came along it really gave me confidence that I could be one of the greats. I mean, I needed someone great to show me what it’s like to be great. If Shaq says you’re going to be one of the greats, that’s all I need.” said Wade.

The 2008 Heat Championship team is making headlines again, and Shaquille O’Neal continues to talk about this season for the Heat and what it took to win a championship. Part of it required him smashing the beef with another Heat legend.

Shaq and Alonzo Mouring Squash the Beef

In a recent episode of Shaq’s ‘The big podcast‘ the Hall of Fame center revealed a surprising issue he had with another Hall of Fame center and former Heat teammate Alonzo Mourning.

“I had beef with Alonzo Mourning,” O’Neal said. “And then when he came to the Miami Heat, I had to put him down and apologize. I said, ‘You know what, Alonzo, I was a hypocrite. I never thought you were that great.” Alonzo Mourning is a great guy.”

In her day, the center position was the focus of most NBA offenses. Offense was created in the post and O’Neal and Mourning were two of the strongest and most physical players at their positions. The two Hall of Famers fought throughout their NBA careers until their eventual union in South Beach. O’Neal remarked that after years of fighting, he wished they had buried the hatchet sooner.

“When he walked into the locker room I was like, ‘Man, this guy is just really, really cool. We should have done that a few years ago,'” O’Neal said,” O’Neal said.

O’Neal and Mourning became one of the most dominant frontcourts the league has seen in the 2005-06 championship campaign. Though his career was nearing its end, Mourning was still having a solid season, averaging 7.8 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.7 blocks per game. The Grief also came out big in this season’s postseason, and at times was the main big man for the Heat in their run to the title.

Dwyane Wade on individual awards

Wade mentioned how O’Neal and the 2006 Heat roster helped give him the confidence that he could be one of the all-time greats, and he was right. Wade was recently named to the NBA Top 75 list, and he also spoke about that honor on a recent podcast appearance.

“I didn’t know, I didn’t know it was going to happen. We all want to do well individually, but I’ve never enjoyed playing individual sports. I’ve always played the way I loved, with the team aspect. I was always fine with not getting an award. I remember when I tried to be MVP for a year and in the same year I won 2008 Defensive Player of the Year and I came third on both occasions,” Wade shared.

“They just proved to me again that individual accolades don’t mean anything, so the ’75 was probably the first time I’ve really cared about something individual since.”