As Shaquille O'Neal celebrates his 49th birthday on Saturday, his former Miami Heat teammate and fellow TNT analyst Dwyane Wade made sure to shower him with a lot of love.

On Twitter, Wade called Shaq the “greatest big man to ever play” in his eyes. He also shared his special bond with the NBA legend, calling him his “big brother.”

While it's a simple greeting, it shows a lot about Dwyane Wade's relationship with Shaquille O'Neal. They may have both been retired and may have not spent a lot of time on the court as teammates, but it's clear there is the mutual respect and brotherhood.

For what it's worth, the two played together and won a championship with the Heat in 2006–taking down the Dallas Mavericks in the process. It was Wade's first taste of the Larry O'Brien trophy, while it was Shaq's last time to lift the highly coveted NBA title.

After two seasons with the Heat, Miami traded O'Neal to the Phoenix Suns in 2008. The Big Aristotle went on to play three more seasons after that before retiring in 2011.

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For his part, Wade called it a career after the 2018-19 campaign with the Heat. He had brief stints with the Chicago Bulls and Cleveland Cavaliers, but there was never any doubt he's a true son of Miami as he returned for a swansong season.

While Shaq and Wade's playing days are over, it's still nice to see them stay in basketball and, of course, have fun from time to time.