Despite being in awe, Shaq said his first matchup with MJ gave him confidence.
Nearly every player fortunate enough to share the floor with hoops icon Michael Jordan has a story to share. Whether it was a star or a benchwarmer, everybody took pride in being on the court with, arguably, the greatest player ever to lace ’em up.
But for a young Shaquille O’Neal, facing off against MJ as a rookie was more than a memorable experience. As he described on the latest episode of “The Big Podcast,” it was like seeing God himself in action.
An encounter with the divine
NBA stars and legends have MJ stories for days. But what all these stories have in common is that “His Airness” always seemed to have this aura of greatness around him on or off the court. And for Shaq, this was especially true when he faced off against the Chicago Bulls legend for the first time.
Although he was a highly regarded rookie coming out of LSU, the 7-foot center was still adjusting to life as a pro. And like all young basketball players who grew up in the ’80s and ’90s, he idolized MJ. So, when he was asked by JJ Redick what it was like for him to face off against Michael Jordan for the first time, O’Neal replied, “I don’t know what God looks like; it’s like seeing God.”
Though it wasn’t “Diesel’s” first time seeing MJ in person, he said the experience of watching him pull off his acrobatic moves as an opponent was far different from witnessing it as a fan.
“The stuff that he did on TV, and then you see it in real life, he’s like, ‘Oh my God, it’s really real,'” Shaq said. “He came at me like one of the first plays of the game, and in my mind, I’m not getting dunked on, so I tried to meet him early, slid by me, I bumped him, and he still did that, and he laid it up off the backboard, and the crowd went crazy. I was like, ‘This guy is real.'”
The experience gave O’Neal confidence
Although Shaq’s first matchup against Jordan and the Bulls ended in a 16-point loss for the Orlando Magic, the big man played well, scoring 19 points along with 11 rebounds and five assists. However, one stain on his performance in that game was the eight turnovers he committed. Despite the defeat, O’Neal said that the experience of playing against MJ boosted his confidence.
“It also gave me confidence because he was killing us; he was killing Nick and those guys. But he came off a screen one time, and he shot it. I didn’t block him, but I was there. I was like, if I can get up early, and you know, maybe jump a little higher, go a little harder, maybe I can get it. So, you know, in order to be the best, you have to beat the best,” the legendary big man added.
Shaq eventually became the last player to hand “His Airness” a defeat in the postseason. This happened in the second round of the 1995 NBA Playoffs. After a brief hiatus, Jordan had just returned to the Bulls roster and was looking to lead his team back to the promised land. However, there stood a massive 7-foot-1 roadblock in Shaq.
“Everybody was scared of Michael Jordan,” the “Big Aristotle” remarked. “I was not. That’s why I won thousands of dollars in bets. ‘Who was the last person to beat Michael Jordan?’ Nobody knows. ‘Well, he went 6-0.’ Remember the year when he took off and came back, and they played us? I’m the last guy to beat him.”
Shaq eventually went on to become one of the league’s greatest players. But he never forgot the first time he brushed with greatness personified.
