Shaquille O'Neal returns to Miami on Wednesday for the first time since being traded 13 months ago to the Phoenix Suns, a move that came after the Heat's relationship with the sometimes-charismatic, sometimes-enigmatic center disintegrated beyond repair.

He was often hurt, complained about not getting the ball, said some Heat teammates weren't good enough to compete. In other words, a bad breakup - so the homecoming will be interesting.

"Just another game for me," O'Neal said.

No one knows how he'll be received by Miami fans.

But Dwyane Wade, the star Heat guard whom O'Neal dubbed 'Flash' soon after arriving in Miami, will welcome him with open arms.

"When we see each other, it's like nothing has happened," Wade said. "We fall right back in place. We shared something here in Miami that will last a lifetime and every time we see each other, it's that way."

O'Neal was larger than life with the Heat, and reminders remain everywhere.

Start with the wall outside of Miami's locker room. O'Neal's face is there, a picture blown up so enormously that the pores of his skin look like craters on the moon. Past the double doors, there's collages of memories from the 2006 championship run, and O'Neal is in two dozen of those photos. Off to the right, there's O'Neal and Wade, posing with the NBA hardware in Dallas.

"I was a vital part," O'Neal said. "Hopefully it stays around."

But even while the Heat honor their past, the franchise has clearly moved in a different direction.

Only Wade, Udonis Haslem and Dorell Wright remain from the championship season. Miami now has the second-youngest rotation in the NBA. And one of those youngsters, rookie point guard Mario Chalmers, wasn't even aware he had O'Neal's former locker.

"Those pictures just shows what that team accomplished and now we've got to have the same goal," Chalmers said. "He won a championship here, so anytime he comes back it's got to be a special thing."

O'Neal may have left the Heat on sour terms, yet says he still cherishes the special moments in Miami, from the day he arrived on an 18-wheeler with great fanfare following a trade with the Los Angeles Lakers to the championship parade.

"He made us matter again when we first got him from the Lakers," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "We became relevant again."

He's fired his share of verbal salvos over his career, with Penny Hardaway, Phil Jackson and Kobe Bryant primary targets for his sharpest comments. O'Neal now says all that was about marketing - but he never really lashed out publicly at Wade or his former coach in Miami, Pat Riley.

O'Neal and Riley had their battles, for certain. But O'Neal says there's still a respect factor there, and some Heat players still speak very well of the Big Fella, too.

"He kind of help raised some of us from boys to men," said Heat captain Udonis Haslem, adding that Shaq is "still like a brother to me."

O'Neal often called the Heat president "the great Pat Riley" when he was in Miami, and was asked last week if he still felt that way.

"Of course," O'Neal said. "Great guy, who is a legend. He just got into the Hall of Fame. I had some up and down experiences with him but they are experiences that both of us will never forget and I'm happy that I made the move to go there."

The Suns, especially lately, have to be thrilled Miami made the move to send him to Phoenix, too.

He scored 45 points last week on 20-for-25 shooting against Toronto, his highest-scoring game in nearly six years, and followed that with a 33-point effort against the Lakers on Sunday.

He turns 37 this weekend, and is turning back the clock.

"If I was voting for the most improved player," Suns coach Alvin Gentry said, "I think I would vote for him."

Wednesday completes an odd reunion tour for O'Neal - there was the L.A. game Sunday, then a trip to his first NBA stop, Orlando, on Tuesday, capped by the trip to Miami.

"I think he's motivated. And when a guy like that, with the talent he has, is motivated, it's tough," Wade said. "He's showing his greatness."

But when it comes to his looming reception in Miami, even O'Neal doesn't know what to expect.

He knows some fans still remember him fondly; his No. 32 jersey can still easily be spotted by those in the stands in Miami.

He's also aware some believe he's the biggest reason why Miami plummeted from a title-contender to NBA bottom-feeder last year.

"That's what I do. I get in and get under people's skin and all that stuff," O'Neal said. "But you will remember me - and that's all that matters."

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