Pat Riley believes the acquisition of Shaquille O'Neal in 2004 was the single biggest move in the history of the Miami Heat franchise.

"I'll say this, and I mean this," Riley says during a relaxed moment this past week, "Shaq's acquisition was bigger than any acquisition that we ever made, including the Big Three."

The Heat reached the Eastern Conference Finals in Year 1 with O'Neal and then won the Finals in 2005 with Dwyane Wade winning MVP honors. O'Neal narrowly finished runner-up to Steve Nash in MVP voting in 2005.

O'Neal was traded by the Heat to the Phoenix Suns in 2008 as the relationship between he and Riley turned contentious.

"The seminal moment," Riley says, "to really make us really, really legitimate. He turned our franchise around. He gave us real legitimacy."