Miami Heat: Shaquille O’Neal was serious about ‘breaking’ his rookie in

All-Time great and former Miami Heat champion, Shaq, has always been serious about ‘breaking’ in his rookies. One current Heat player knows all about it.

The Miami Heat are slowly becoming one of those historical type franchises in the NBA. When you think about those types of franchises, it is the ones that move the needle, have a great impact on the culture, win a ton, or builds a certain level of respect currency for what they’ve done, continue to do, or the respect that others have for their organizational practices.

The Miami Heat, with a ton of props to Pat Riley, fits or is starting to fit that bill. With every franchise of this nature though, there are stories that begin to come together that are either based on your franchise, something that happened to players while with your franchise, or something that happens to players that formerly played for your franchise.

Well, the Miami Heat hit the double whammy with the next instance. Here is a story that is about former Miami Heat champion and All-Time great NBA player, Shaq or Shaquille O’Neal.

The Miami Heat’s ‘microwave’ had an amazing story about one of the NBA’s ‘giants’. It was so on-brand for both of the ‘characters’ in it.

The story referenced in the above tweet is hilarious. It’s so on-brand for Shaq, but also, on-brand of how he always talks about “his” NBA rooks and/or young guys. Here’s the rest of what The Dragon said about how “he treats rookies in the NBA”.

"(Laughs) You know, I have to admit, he was great. Uhhh, you know, he did take care of me. He had a lot of jokes… He was so funny. Uhh, but yea, one of those anecdotal…I always had to carry his keyboard when we going away.It’s a big keyboard and you know, from the bus to the plane, from the plane to the hotel. And uhh, a few times my room was next to his and I never heard him, you know, play on it.And one day after the season, I ask him “hey Shaq, did you ever play on the keyboard”. He said “No”, I said, “Why not?”. He said, “It doesn’t work, it’s broke”. (laughs) So I had to carry this keyboard the whole season and that was my rookie duties, but uhh… you know, I’m really happy that I was apart of that team and you know, to get to know Shaq, I mean, he’s a character”."

You’ve just got to love The Diesel! Well, it seems as though Goran does.

We all do, as Dragic stated, “He’s a character”. The larger than life O’Neal was key to the Miami Heat’s first title and he will forever live in Miami Heat greatness for that.

This was one of those patented Shaq stories though and who better to hear it from than our very own Goran Dragic. A dragon talking about a giant, who would have thunk it? No one, but that’s another part of what made it such a great story.