The Miami Heat’s 2006 NBA championship will always be remembered for the Dwyane Wade heroics in the Finals against the Dallas Mavericks.
Shaquille O’Neal was also part of the roster, but it was Dwyane Wade who led the way for the title by averaging 34.7 PPG against Dirk Nowitzki’s Dallas Mavericks.
The team also had other veteran players like Gary Payton and Alonzo Mourning, but something happened in the offseason that helped them significantly.
The Miami Heat were aware that they needed a few more pieces to compete after the 2004-05 season, and this is why they tried to add players to their roster.
O’Neal himself also tried recruiting players, and one of them was a talented point guard in Jason Williams.
Williams was one of the most electric point guards in the NBA as he had an amazing passing range, which made it easy to play with him.
The four-time champion was aware of that and wanted Williams to join him in Miami.
Williams, famously called ‘White Chocolate,’ was one of the most loved players on the Memphis Grizzlies roster and was against the move back then.
Speaking on the starting fives podcast, he said: “He came to the house and said, ‘How would you like it if you got traded to the Heat?” Williams said. “You can tell Pat Riley you can cut my left ___ off if we get down to the Heat,” was the point guard’s reply to Shaq.
O’Neal’s recruitment effort failed at that moment, but eventually Williams had to go to the Heat as part of a five team deal that saw 13 players swap sides.
| Miami Heat | Memphis Grizzlies | New Orleans Hornets | Boston Celtics | Utah Jazz |
| Antoine Walker | Eddie Jones | Rasual Butler | Qyntel Woods | Greg Ostertag |
| Jason Williams | Raul Lopez | Kirk Snyder | Draft Rights to Albert Miralles | |
| James Posey | Two Second-Round Draft Picks from Miami Heat | |||
| Andre Emmett | Curtis Borchardt | |||
| Draft Rights to Roberto Duenas |
While it is not clear if O’Neal’s demand of Williams led to the historic 13-player trade, it proved to be a significant one for Heat history.
They got two starters in Williams and Antoine Walker, who played vital roles in their playoff run, while also adding James Posey, who put in valuable minutes off the bench.
The team was veteran-heavy, but all the players knew it was Wade’s team and just fulfilled supporting roles to win the championship.
It turned out to be the only good season for that team, as the very next season they crashed out in the first round, and the year after, they finished at the bottom of the Eastern Conference with just 15 wins.
