Jun 6, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Shaquille O'Neal looks on before the game between the Boston Celtics and the Dallas Mavericks in game one of the 2024 NBA Finals at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images David Butler II-Imagn Images

Shaquille O'Neal Reveals Weakness Keeping Miami Heat From Contending

Originally posted on Miami Heat on SI
By Shandel Richardson | Last updated Jul 15, 2025 1:25 PM ET

Hall of Famer Shaquille O'Neal knows what it takes to win a championship. He won three with the Los Angeles Lakers and helped bring the first to the Miami Heat in 2006. While O'Neal is excited about the Heat adding guard Norman Powell in free agency, he still feels they aren't championship-ready.

In an interview with Forbes, he revealed the missing ingredient needed for the Heat to make a run to the NBA Finals.

“They got all the pieces,” O’Neal said. “They just need a big, they need a closer, big-time closer. I don’t know what it is, but they’re always going to compete, always going to make a run for the players.”

O'Neal said the Heat need a player like Jimmy Butler, who led them to the Finals in 2020 and 2023. The Heat came up short both times, losing to LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers and the Nikola Jokic-led Denver Nuggets. They need either a piece like Butler or for Bam Adebayo or Tyler Herro to reach the next level.

“When you talk about Miami culture, the culture, which I helped create, it’s all about championships,” O’Neal said. “Do they have enough to win a championship? No, not at all. But if you get them a closer, then we’ll start talking championships.”