NBA Legend Shaquille O'Neal Reveals To Dirk Nowitzki He Wanted Trade To Dallas Mavericks

The Mavericks could've had two of the ten greatest scorers on the same team

Dec 23, 2022; Houston, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic (77) greets Shaquille O'Neal after the game against the Houston Rockets at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports / Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

The Dallas Mavericks could've had Shaquille O'Neal and Dirk Nowitzki on the same team if Shaq had his way. At least, that's what O'Neal revealed Dirk Nowitzki on the most recent episode of "The Big Podcast."

Nowitzki was asked about players, current or in the past, that he most wanted to play with and listed off Michael Jordan, Shaquille O'Neal, and Kobe Bryant (who was also almost a Maverick if you believe Mark Cuban). Jordan was one of his heroes growing up but also said he watched a lot of the Shaq and Penny Hardaway teams in Orlando and had one of their pinstripe jerseys in his closet.

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After that, O'Neal revealed he wanted a trade to the Dallas Mavericks to play with Nowitzki. "Trust me, I tried to get to Dallas many times," O'Neal started. "Me and Mark [Cuban] was working behind the scenes, like right after I [wanted to leave] L.A., Mark was the first person I called, but [former Lakers General Manager] Mitch Kupchak didn't want to trade me to Mark so they ended up [sending] me to Miami."

"I remember there were a few rumblings at the time," Nowitzki responded, "and then you obviously went to Miami and you guys beat us in '06."

"I called Mark," O'Neal continued, "and I said 'Mark, whatever you got to do to get me there' and he's like 'The Lakers won't do it!' and I was like 'Make 'em do it, Mark.' They wouldn't do it, but that would've been nice. Because I love Dallas, as you know, I have two houses here."

It's hard not to think about what the tandem of Dirk Nowitzki and Shaquille O'Neal could've looked like. Shaq was at the tail end of his prime when he was traded to Miami in 2004, but was still a key piece to that Miami Heat team that beat Dallas in The Finals in 2006. If you have Shaq alongside Dirk, there's a good chance they go on to win that year instead of Miami and could've been dominant for a couple more seasons. Shaq's production started to fall off after the 2006 championship, but had one last good year in the 2008-2009 season with Phoenix, before closing out his career with forgettable stops in Cleveland and Boston.

Dirk Nowitzki finally got his ring in 2011 and may not have had to wait as long if Shaq was by his side, but those would've been two players who wanted the ball. Nowitzki currently sits 6th all-time in scoring to O'Neal's 9th.

The Mavericks will have their own chance at another ring starting tonight, as they play the Boston Celtics in the 2024 NBA Finals.

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