MIAMI, July 14 The Miami HEAT announced today that they have acquired 11-time All-Star center Shaquille ONeal from the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for Caron Butler, Brian Grant, Lamar Odom and a future first-round draft pick.
Today the Miami HEAT took a giant step forward in our continued pursuit of an NBA championship for the city of Miami and this franchise, said HEAT President Pat Riley. It has always been about winning for us and trying to win championships. We feel that we have traded for the best player in the NBA. I feel tremendous sadness and a debt of gratitude to Brian, Lamar and Caron because these were men who really bought into our team and our organization and the city of Miami. It disheartens me to see them leave and I thank them for their many contributions to the HEAT and wish them nothing but the best. However you dont get many chances to acquire the best player in the league and this was a trade I felt we had to make.
ONeal, a three-time NBA Champion, has averaged 27.1 points, 12.1 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 2.6 blocks per game over the course of his 12-year NBA career. He is a two-time regular season scoring champion and has led the league in field goal percentage seven times, including last season when he connected on 58.4 percent of his attempts. He ranks first among active NBA players in field goal percentage (.577) and scoring average (27.1 ppg), and third and fourth, respectively, on the NBAs all-time list. He is also second among active players in blocked shots (2,102). He is tied with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Hakeem Olajuwon and Wilt Chamberlain for the most seasons of averaging 20+ points and 10+ rebounds. The group has each done it 12 times, with ONeal being the only one to do it in every season in which he has played. In the playoffs, ONeal has averaged 27.2 points, 12.9 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 2.4 blocks in 158 games.
ONeal was named one of the leagues 50 Greatest Players in NBA History and has been an All-NBA Team selection for the past 11 seasons, including being named to the All-NBA First Team for the last five years. In his twelve NBA seasons, he was named the leagues Most Valuable Player once, the NBA Finals MVP on three occasions and the NBA All-Star Game MVP twice. He is one of only three players in NBA history to win MVP honors in the regular season, All-Star Game and the Finals in the same year. He is a two-time NBA All-Defensive Second Team selection and was also given the IBM Award for all-around contribution to a teams success twice. He has garnered NBA Player of the Week honors 18 times and NBA Player of the Month honors 11 times.
ONeal spent the last eight seasons as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers, where he helped lead the club to four NBA Finals appearances and three NBA Championships. As a Laker, ONeal averaged 24.2 points, 10.4 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 2.2 blocks in 514 regular season games. He also averaged 29.1 points, 13.4 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 2.5 blocks in 100 playoff games with the Lakers.
Originally drafted by the Orlando Magic with the first pick in the 1992 NBA Draft, ONeal spent four seasons with the Magic. As a member of the club, he averaged 27.2 points, 12.5 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 2.8 blocks in 295 games. He was named NBA Rookie of the Year after averaging 23.4 points, 13.9 rebounds and 3.5 blocks per game during his inaugural season and was also named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team.
ONeal has also found success while representing his country. He was a member of the gold-medal winning U.S. Olympic team in 1996 as well as a member of the gold-medal winning U.S. World Championship team in 1994.
Caron Butler was selected by the HEAT with the 10th pick in the 2002 NBA Draft. In his two seasons with the club, he has averaged 12.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.5 steals in 33.5 minutes per game.
Brian Grant, who spent the previous four seasons with Miami, was acquired by the club as part of a three-way sign-and-trade deal with Portland and Cleveland on August 30, 2000. Grant has averaged 11.4 points, 8.0 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 30.1 minutes per game over the span of his 10-year career. As a member of the HEAT, he averaged 11.0 points, 8.5 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 312 games.
Lamar Odom signed with the HEAT as a free agent on August 27, 2003, after spending the previous four seasons with the Los Angeles Clippers. He averaged 17.1 points, 9.7 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.1 steals in a team-high 37.5 minutes per game last season. In his 310 career games, he has averaged 16.2 points, 8.0 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.0 steals in 36.4 minutes per game.
HEAT broadcast partner Sunshine Network will televise ONeals inaugural Miami press conference live statewide. At this point details are not yet finalized.
Below is a list of some of O'Neal's awards and accomplishments:
SHAQUILLE O'NEAL AWARDS: