Shaquille O’Neal is often remembered as the most dominating player in NBA history. But before he became that, he was an uber-athletic 7-footer who could finish at the rim with incredible efficiency. Yet, he was not his dominating self. However, battles against his own GOAT Michael Jordan, who happened to be the dominant player at the time, shaped his future.
O’Neal was well on his way to showcase his abilities when he led his Orlando Magic to a massive improvement over their previous season. But he knew to establish himself as one of the biggest stars in the league, he had to win the battle against Jordan.
On January 16th, the then back-to-back NBA Champions welcomed the young franchise. From the off, it was evident O’Neal wanted the smoke. He dominated the interior, forcing Jordan to score most of his points from outside the paint. But on one play, Jordan saw a situation develop where he could go in and slam down a surefire two-pointer.
Once he spun away from his defender, he made his way to the rim and exploded. But instead of him hammering the ball down, he felt the strength of Shaquille O’Neal. The then-rookie thrust both his arms out to stop Jordan from dunking on him. He succeeded, and Jordan had to take his time to get up from the floor.
The strength and power of a near-300lb center hitting him at almost full force would be too much for anyone. Once Michael Jordan got back to his feet, the battle resumed. But in the end, maybe that hit along with the exhaustion from having to single-handedly score 64 points were their undoing. Shaquille O’Neal and his Magic had won that battle.
Michael Jordan would eventually have the last laugh
That was a regular season win that gave Shaquille O’Neal a boost that he won his first real battle against the best. A couple of years later, O’Neal and his Magic defeated the Chicago Bulls in the playoffs. But in that year, Jordan was not at his physical best after playing a handful of games returning from retirement. The following year, however, he had the last laugh.
In the following 1995-96 season, Michael Jordan was back to his elite best. He used his renewed physical attributes and otherworldly ability to score a basketball to blow out the Orlando Magic in the Eastern Conference Finals. That win was against a team who defeated them to reach the NBA Finals the previous season. That too with a team featuring players who Shaquille O’Neal wanted around him.
This prompted the Big Aristotle to leave the Magic and sign with the Los Angeles Lakers. Whether Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls have a hand in it is not clear. But it also worked out better for the Diesel. He used those losses to become the most dominant big man in league history.
