Miami Heat: Shaquille O'Neal's Jersey Will Be Retired When Lakers Come to Town

MIAMI, FL — Shaquille O'Neal will officially become legend next month in the Miami sports universe when the Heat take on the Los Angeles Lakers and the team retires #32 in a house that has seen a number of basketball greats past through.

The Heat announced on Monday that the jersey ceremony will take place at halftime on Dec. 22 at AmericanAirlines Arena.

It will be hosted by Heat television play-by-play announcer, Eric Reid, and include a video presentation and the raising of the No. 32 retirement banner to the rafters of the arena.

O’Neal and Heat President Pat Riley are both scheduled to address fans. In addition, FOX Sports Sun will air the ceremony live on the local television broadcast.

O’Neal becomes the third Heat player to have his jersey retired along with Alonzo Mourning and Tim Hardaway.

O’Neal played for 19 seasons, earning four NBA Championships, three NBA Finals MVP’s, 15 all-star selections, three all-tar MVP’s, a regular season NBA MVP, a NBA rookie of the year award and a gold medal with Team USA while being named to 14 all-NBA teams and three NBA all-defensive teams.

He appeared in 1,207 career regular season NBA games (1,197 starts) and averaged 23.7 points, 10.9 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 2.26 blocks and 34.7 minutes while shooting 58.2 percent from the field. His professional career ranks among the best in NBA history with 28,596 points (seventh), 2,732 blocks (eighth) and 13,099 rebounds (14th), according to the Heat.

Next month's match-up is a fitting time for the ceremony since O'Neil was acquired by the HEAT from the Lakers in 2004 and re-signed as a free agent in 2005. He played three-and-a-half seasons in Miami, helping the Heat capture its first NBA championship in 2006.

During his time in Miami, the team picked up three straight division titles and made two Eastern Conference championship appearances. He became the first Heat player, and only the sixth in NBA history, to shoot at least 60 percent from the field in consecutive seasons, doing so his first two seasons in Miami in 2004-05 and 2005-06, according to the Heat.

O'Neal scored his 25,000th career point in a HEAT uniform on February 26, 2007, becoming just the 14th player in NBA history to reach the milestone and remains Miami’s all-time leader in field goal percentage (.596) and ranks third in scoring average (19.6), sixth in blocks (384), seventh in free throws attempted (1,708), eighth in offensive rebounds (621), ninth in double-doubles (84), 11th in total rebounds (1,856), 12th in defensive rebounds (1,235), 12th in field goals made (1,612), 13th in free throws made (786), 14th in points (4,010), 14th in double-figure scoring games (191), 14th in starts (203) and 15th in field goals attempted (2,703).

Among the HEAT’s all-time postseason leaders, O’Neal ranks second in dunks (116), fourth in free throws attempted (315), fifth in double-doubles (15), fifth in double-figure scoring games (37), fifth in 20-point games (16), sixth in field goals made (312), sixth in total rebounds (361), sixth in offensive rebounds (110), sixth in defensive rebounds (251), sixth in blocks (59), seventh in points (751), seventh in free throws made (127), seventh in games started (40), eighth in field goal attempts (531) and ninth in minutes (1,311), according to the Heat.

Photo from the Miami Heat.