Evelyn Lozada heats up talk after sharing photo of Shaq O'Neal's ex-wife Shaunie on her birthday

Shaunie O’Neal, the ex-wife of basketball legend, Shaquille O’Neal, turned 44 last month and her friend, Evelyn Lozada, reached out with a lovely message, heating up talks in the process.

The last season of “Basketball Wives” was a trying period for Evelyn and Shaunie who have always been close friends, but Evelyn’s birthday tribute to her pal had people believing their friendship can withstand anything.

Evelyn shared a photo of Shaunie sitting pretty in a mini black dress and highlighting her toned legs with a pair of strappy heels. She used light makeup and wore long braids that reached all the way to her waist. Evelyn captioned the photo:

“Happy, happy birthday! You deserve all the cakes, love, hugs and happiness today! Enjoy your day my friend.”

The reconciliation speculations were further strengthened recently when Shaunie returned the favor for her friend’s birthday on December 10. Evelyn turned 43 and Shaunie had only kind words for the reality star.

“Screaming HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my Beautiful friend! My Sagittarius Sister,” she wrote alongside a lovely image of the birthday girl. “We laugh, we cry, knows what each other is thinking without saying a word. I pray that today you know how much you are appreciated and loved. Love you!”

The last season of “Basketball Wives” was an intense one for the two women after a rumor almost ended their friendship. Fellow cast members of the show, Tami Roman and Jennifer Williams claimed that Evelyn slept with Shaunie’s ex-husband, Shaquille, and even though Evelyn vehemently denied the accusation, she and Shaunie had a huge argument.

"I went in that garage, not only did I flatten tires, bust a few windows, I wrote on the hood of his car, ‘I cheat on my wife. I ain’t [expletive]’ with a knife."

The allegations may have hurt Shaunie more because her five-year marriage to Shaquille came to an end over infidelity.

In a previous episode of “Basketball Wives,” Shaunie had opened up to Evelyn about how she reacted when she finally realized her husband was stepping out on her.

She found out Shaquille was cheating after she mistakenly took his blackberry instead of hers. After coming across incriminating texts from other women, Shaunie went on a revenge spree.

“I went in the arena and I went in that garage, not only did I flatten tires, bust a few windows, I wrote on the hood of his car, ‘I cheat on my wife. I ain’t [expletive]’ with a knife. I wrote it on the hood and down the side of the car.

He had to drive that [expletive] on four flats, with the messages all around it. I drove right on the side of his ass blowing the horn, cause I wanted to people to like see. Beep! Beep! The Whole ride, the whole ride."

Now, however, it looks like Evelyn and Shaunie have moved past the rumors and are back to being besties.