When a Rookie Shaq Bullied Prime Michael Jordan and Almost Got Away With It

On January 16, 1993, Michael Jordan and Shaquille O'Neal had one of the biggest duels of the decade in a back-and-forth battle that went to overtime. Jordan dropped 64 points and Shaq had a 30-20 game with five blocks, the magic mark. The new franchise that finished with only 21 wins in the previous season defeated the reigning NBA champions. This was only the second time Shaq faced Jordan, but in one of the quietest rivalries in NBA history, this saga was far from over, in fact, in this epic game. top Shaq would do something that would come back to haunt him years later.

I can't let him kill me, that's not viable. I had to touch it up. He was one of those who could kill. It has to be a poster forever because Mike was the man. At that moment

when

I went to help him up, he told me: never help anyone lift a big file, don't do that one job, but I'll be back, don't worry as he drives to the basket. MJ is hit by Shaq. a tactic that was both psychological and physical since Shaquille O'Neal stepped onto a basketball court, his message was to show that he was bigger and stronger than everyone else and that no matter how hard he attacked him, he would come back tenfold. times tougher, but in his attempt to get inside Jordan's head, Shaq inadvertently sparked a fire inside MJ that would later lead to a career-altering decision in the early '90s, Akhil O'Neal worked his way to becoming In his first ten games, Shaq was putting up stat lines that no 20-year-old

rookie

should be putting up.

The basketball world knew he would be good, but this good this early was unheard of in 1996. Shaq made the list of the 50 greatest players in NBA history in just his third season at the age of 23 to put this in perspective, the youngest player in last year's all-star game was 22 years old at this time these are the best 23 year old players in the NBA, it would be impossible to say that any of these players would be considered among the top 50 players of all the times; in fact, only two of them have a stellar appearance, and yet at this point in his career, Shaq was on the same list as the greatest players to ever play the game, but no matter how incredible he is.

Shaq was around as long as Jordan was in the league, he would be an afterthought to the best player in the NBA, the conversation is always Kobe versus Michael, but while Kobe was trying to earn a spot on his high school varsity team, Shaq was busy trying . to dethrone an excellent Michael Jordan and after losing time and time again Shaquille O'Neal really found success after the 1992-93 season, Mike took his infamous break from basketball leaving the door open for Shaq to take over the NBA just one season after the start. league Shaq and the rest of the world were caught by surprise

when

a Michael Jordan in his

prime

retired from basketball and with Jordan busy playing baseball, Shaq asserted himself as the most dominant player on the planet.

Jordan leaving the game was the best thing that could have happened to him. For a young Shaquille O'Neal at this point, Magic had established itself as the best team in the East behind its young dynamic duo and Shaq and Penny were getting one step closer each game to the seemingly inevitable fact that Shaquille O'Neal was going to be the face of the NBA for the foreseeable future over the next two seasons Shaq had turned a failing franchise into an NBA powerhouse from 21 to 57 wins in just three seasons, leading the East in 1995 with an average of 27, 13 and 3, while winning two in total. -The NBA team selects a Rookie of the Year award and a scoring title at only 22 years old, this was his time, he had the team, he had the talent and Mike had vacated his number one spot, how is it possible to stop to a seven footer? inch 300 pound monster of nature you wanted to get

away

from the media they had no more challenges less than two years you're back Jacque thought she was free of Jordan's reign Michael decided that maybe basketball was a sport after all and returned to the game in The spring of 1995 and that fast track to the NBA Finals just took a detour for Shaq at Magic, but the last time Michael played Shaq, Magic wasn't even a playoff team and now, just two seasons later , they were the best team in the East. and had all the ingredients for a future dynasty as the Bulls recovered from their year without Jordan and for the first time since the 1980s the Bulls did not look like the clear favorite in the 1995 NBA Playoffs, two years after their last meeting with Shaq. would finally get his chance to officially take the torch from Jordan and he did, that big guy gets it there now 72 magical will Aleve works for the lab starts backing off on both sides to the chef's credit against Jack with just in the air and him will do get up to go to the floor and hit Shaquille O'Neal, the big guy on the floor, check and that will stop there being no magic, we are going to win this series over the Chicago Bulls, the Orlando Magic here in the Chicago Center and defeat to the Chicago Bulls.

For the first and only time in his

prime

, Michael Jordan and the Bulls were eliminated from the playoffs, the once unbeatable team had fallen to 22-year-old Shaquille O'Neal and company, and Shaq's master plan had finally come to fruition. a reality, a streak that shocked the basketball world and even Shaq himself. I'm studying it because I want whatever I have to study how referees study poorly. He's talking to his teammates and it was good. I'm studying his relationship with him and Phil Jackson. I am studying. how the ponies look at him and fear him and all that I definitely want him to be the best in the game I wanted his place keep in mind that this is a Michael Jordan a season and a half

away

from basketball and only with 25 games in his He returned to the league a 32 year old MJ who had not yet regained his touch and was still adjusting to the hardwood and was putting up 31 and 7 a game on one of the best teams in the league, but none of that mattered to Shaq. because in just his third season he became the only man to beat Michael Jordan in his prime, the guy he wants Jordan to be had beaten Jordan and it would be nice and appropriate if the story ended right here, a young Shaquille O' Neal. dragging a once terrible team to its greatest playoff success in the organization's existence, killing the once unbeatable juggernaut in Chicago, but if there's one thing we've learned about basketball in the '90s, Michael Jordan always laughs the last one after his defeat against the magical Michael Jordan. and the Bulls went on their 1996 revenge tour by working their way through the entire league, breaking multiple NBA records and winning the most games in a single season at the time, a reminder to the NBA that Michael Jordan and His team was still the best basketball team. on the planet, but behind this return to glory, an underlying reason for his success was to lead Jordan to return to that rare moment of failure in the previous season to get revenge on the only man who beat him while he was on top after a regular season in which The Bulls won two of the three matchups against Magic once again.

Jordan and Shaq would meet in the playoffs, this time in the Conference Finals to decide who would fight for a championship. Shaq thought it was his time, but Mike had to remind him. the diesel who ran out of time Michael has seen his teammates rise to the occasion by playing with fire and determination that, like the Bulls, one wins to reach the finals, but a giant obstacle still gets in the way oh my move Cindy Michael George use the dribble and push the gunman Jordan got the third pie Jordan doesn't have a chance here are some parts operating points yes after losing to magic in the season before the Bulls swept them in the 1996 Eastern Conference Finals which included a thirty-eight point blowout in the first game and held the Magic to just 67 points in the third game in the 1995 playoffs.

The Magic won by an average margin of just one point and a quarter, winning the series in six in the 1996 playoffs. The Bulls won by an average margin of

almost

17 points, a blowout of historic proportions to put this series in perspective. The 2017 Warriors had one of the most dominant runs in NBA playoff history, going 16-1 on their way to a championship in the Finals. They nearly swept the Cavs winning by an average margin of just eight and a half points. Not only did Jordan and the Bulls beat the magic, they completely buried them in their own building, but despite being swept, Shaq still maintained his numbers that make you wonder how a great player on a 61 team could be walked around like that. .

Oh yes, they were playing against the greatest player to ever touch a basketball on the greatest team in league history, but Jordan's loss to Shaq doesn't end there, dating back to 1992. Until 1996, the Orlando Magic They were quickly becoming one of the best teams in the league, getting better every season, they had an excellent Shaq, an excellent Penny Hardaway, a star on the edge of the game, and Nick Anderson, a three-time champion, and Horace Grant, the most lethal . offensive in the NBA and fresh off a Finals appearance, they had all the tools to compete for a championship for several seasons, but of course, this never happened despite finding success in Orlando.

Shaq took his talents to Los Angeles and, of course, to the rest. It's history, but one of the biggest yes of the 90s in ba is the duo Shaq and Penny. The idea of ​​Shaquille O'Neal taking a disappointing new franchise to the promised land and becoming the new face of the league. Now there are several reasons. as to why Shaq left magic, but one that is rarely addressed was his practically unspoken rivalry with Michael Jordan. Shaq dodged Michael Jordan. Well, he wouldn't go that far, but the diesel certainly got rocked by MJ and the Bulls. his ego.

He was hurt and knew that as long as he was in the East and as long as Jordan played basketball he would never be the right guy, but in retrospect, Shaquille O'Neal's shortcomings at the hands of Michael Jordan were actually a blessing in disguise for his career because after facing face to face with MJ, all the other players, all the other teams were in the words of Shaq, barbecue chicken, Michael God has taught me how to get by the next couple that comes off the court Mike grabs me and tells me before to succeed, you must first I learned to fail and that helped me when I moved to Los Angeles and kept my family supported and I can't get to the point where we had a victory because that's how I became who I am today so While we can thank Michael Jordan for dismantling this team and stripping us of the deadliest young duo of the '90s, we can also thank MJ for getting Shaq out of Orlando and giving us this.

Some rivalries have been cemented in the history books due to the impact they had on the game, others were very subtle. that practically went unnoticed with MJ out of the picture, a young Shaquille O'Neal thought he had the league assured that the throne was his, but Michael Jordan harshly reminded him that the crown was not yet his hope. You enjoyed it and as always until next time.