“We was Magic City,” Shaquille O’Neal makes risky confession 19 years after disappointing NBA Finals

Shaquille O'Neal won three championship with the Lakers.

“We was Magic City,” Shaquille O’Neal makes risky confession 19 years after disappointing NBA Finals

Shaquille O'Neal on 1995 NBA Finals

Shaquille O’Neal was drafted into the NBA in 1992 as the first overall pick by the Orlando Magic. Since then Shaq has gone on to win many championships. For many, he is the most dominant center the NBA has ever seen. During his early days, he helped Orlando Magic and was one of the main pillars of the team. Recently on his podcast “The Big Podcast with Shaq,” he was joined by his former Orlando Magic teammate, Penny Hardaway.

During the podcast, Shaquille O’Neal talked about his first trip to the NBA finals. Shaq confessed that his excessive partying was one of the reasons that he lost to the Houston Rockets. Shaq was too inexperienced for the big stage. He even mentioned that they had a great game 1 against the Rockets. But once they lost momentum, Rocket went on a tear and swept the Magic.

Me personally, I was doing way too much… Coach Hill gave us three days off… Me and D-Scott jumped onto a flight, we were at Magic City, we were in Atlanta. We were chilling all night, partying. Then we tried to come back there on day 4 for the practice. Had a terrible practice, it didn’t matter.
Shaquille O’Neal via The Big Podcast
YouTube video

Shaq proved that he was destined to be a star since the start of his career. In his rookie season, he averaged 23.4 points, 13.9 rebounds, and 3.5 blocks per game, which earned him the title of Rookie of the Year in 1993. In 1995 he was already in the NBA finals. Shaq didn’t have a lot of experience and was beaten by Hakeem Olajuwon and his Houston Rockets. Hakeem was too good to be stopped by the young Magic squad.

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This loss was a great motivation for Shaq and learned an important lesson about not celebrating before the job is done. After Orlando, Shaq signed with the Los Angeles Lakers where he won three consecutive championships.

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Penny Hardaway opens up about how Demi Moore and Bruce Willis convinced Shaquille O’Neal to join the Lakers

Shaquille O’Neal had already proved that he was one of the biggest superstars in the league during his time in Orlando. Shaq had formed a great duo with Penny Hardaway. Both were young and helped the Magic to become a great team.

During the “Let’s Be Clear” podcast, Penny Hardaway shared a story involving Shaq. He stated how actors like Bruce Willis and Demi Moore influenced him to sign with the Lakers. He even stated that Jerry West also played a key role in signing Shaq to the Lakers.

I didn't want him to go but I found out that Bruce Willis and Demi Moore all these entertainers and actors out in LA helped recruit him with Jerry West to come out there and it was two overwhelming and Shaq in the movies and in the music...No, it was a great career move for him because going LA was a bigger market than Orlando.
Penny Hardaway via Let’s Be Clear
YouTube video

Los Angeles has always been a bigger market for NBA superstars. Shaq’s move to the Lakers was a big hit to the Orlando Magic. While Shaq went on to win one MVP and three championships with the Lakers, Magic fell into a bad place.

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