“He was the biggest person I had ever seen play” Michael Jordan confesses to bring intimidated by Shaquille O’Neal after returning from retirement
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Michael Jordan and Shaquille O'Neal
During Michael Jordan’s stint in the NBA, he was known as one of the most dominating players who surely did not know how to respect the big and aggressive defenders. Not only was he the marquee scorer for his team, but his tenure in the league, made fans recognize him as a beast who simply flew in the air to score. However, MJ did confess to being intimidated when he saw Shaquille O’Neal tormenting the league with his size.
To those who are not aware, Shaquille O’Neal and his size was mentioned by Michael Jordan in Tuesday’s Book of Basketball 2.0 podcast. Jordan explained how he felt when he saw the Diesel in action while he returned from retirement in 1995. Don’t be shocked, Michael Jordan came out of his first retirement in March 1995 and played the final 17 games of that season.
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Michael Jordan admits to being intimidated by Shaquille O’Neal
Jordan stated, “When I came back from baseball – I didn’t know if ever told anybody this – I am playing against Shaq. Shaq, the biggest person I’ve ever seen play, physically. You know, he was a big matchup guy when I came back from baseball, so I was somewhat intimidated.”
Shaq, who is 7’1 was 325 pounder who absolutely was crushing big guys in the league. Moreover, he was in his third season, his best with the Orlando Magic. O’Neal led the NBA in scoring with 29.3 points per game and powered the Magic to a 57-25 record. They topped the Chicago Bulls in six games in the Eastern Conference semifinals before winning the East and getting swept by the Houston Rockets in the NBA Finals.
Michael Jordan added, “So, I didn’t really know how to play him, you know. Do I go right at him to stop up? Pull up? Blah, blah, went right at him and he just knocked me straight to the floor. And then he reached down and picked me up. I said, ‘Nah! He didn’t mean it. He’s a nice guy.’
“I mean, if he would have left and stepped over me, you know, the old school, I would have been somewhat intimidated, but his heart is too good, you know. He’s not that type of guy. That took away some of the intimidation.”
Justifying his name, Shaq never knew how to back down. And as Kobe famously said, if there was more discipline in his former teammate’s game, he would have been one of the most serious contenders for the GOAT tag in the league.
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