That’s the day everything changed for the Miami HEAT. It was an interesting time when Shaquille O’Neal came to Miami via a blockbuster trade that involved three other players and a first-round draft pick. The HEAT were coming off a surprising 2003-04 campaign in which they pushed the Indiana Pacers to six games in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
Miami already had a budding superstar in Dwyane Wade, who was starting to turn heads. The pairing of O’Neal and Wade would go on to become one of the league's most prolific duos over the next few seasons. That expectation was the main reason for all the excitement at O’Neal’s introductory press conference nearly a week after the trade became official.