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 greatest duels of the decade in a back-and-forth battle that went into overtime Jordan dropped 64 points and Shaq had a 30 20 game with five blocks the magic a brand new franchise that finished with just 21 wins in the previous season defeated the reigning NBA champs this was only the second time Shaq faced off against Jordan but in one of the quietest rivalries in NBA history this saga was far from over in fact in this epic match up Shaq would do something that would come back to haunt him years later [Music] I can't let him dunk on me that's not viable I had to touch him up was one I might get dunked off got to be a poster forever cuz Mike was the man at the time so when I go to help him up he said don't ever help nobody up great file don't do that only job but I'm coming back don't you worry while driving to the basket MJ gets hammered by Shaq a tactic that was just as much psychological as it was physical ever since Shaquille O'Neal stepped onto a basketball court his message was to prove he was bigger and stronger than everyone else that no matter how hard you came at him he would come back ten times harder but in his attempt to get inside Jordans head Shaq inadvertently sparked a fire inside MJ that would later lead to a career altering decision in the early 90s Akhil O'Neal bullied his way into NBA superstar status like no other rookie had done before 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 50 greatest players in NBA history list in just his third season at the age of 23 to put this into perspective the youngest player in last year's all-star game was 22 at the moment these are the best 23 year olds in the NBA it would be an impossible stretch to say that any of these players would be considered a top 50 player of all time in fact only two of them have an all-star appearance and yet at this point in his career Shaq was on the same list as the best players to ever lace up but no matter how incredible Shaq was as long as Jordan was in the league he would be an afterthought in regards 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's varsity team Shaq was busy trying to dethrone a prime Michael Jordan and after losing again and again and again Shaquille O'Neal actually succeeded after the 1992-93 season Mike took his infamous break from basketball leaving the door wide open for Shaq to take over the NBA just one season into the league Shaq and the rest of the world were taken by surprise when a prime Michael Jordan 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 ever have happened for a young Shaquille O'Neal at this point the magic had established themselves as the best team in the East behind their young dynamic duo and Shaq and Penny each game getting one step closer to the seemingly inevitable fact that Shaquille O'Neal was going to be the face of the NBA for the foreseeable future in the next two seasons Shaq had turned to a failing franchise into an NBA powerhouse from 21 wins to 57 wins in just three seasons topping the East in 1995 averaging 27 13 and 3 while earning two all-nba team selections a Rookie of the Year award and a scoring title at just 22 years old this was his time he had the team he had the talent and Mike had vacated his number one spot how could you possibly stop a seven-foot one-inch 300 pound freak of nature you wanted to get away from the media they had no more challenges less than two years you're back Jacque thought he was free from Jordans reign Michael decided 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 in the magic but the last time Michael played Shaq the magic weren't even a playoff team now just two seasons later they were the best team in the East and had all the ingredients for a future dynasty meanwhile the Bulls were recovering from their Jordan 'less year and for the first time since the 80s the Bulls didn't look like the obvious favorite in the 1995 NBA Playoffs two years after their last matchup Shaq would finally get his chance to officially snatch the torch from Jordan and he did just that big guy gets it there [Applause] now 72 magic will Aleve works for the lab starts to back in both side for chef against Jack credit with just in the air and he will rise to go went to the floor and slam Shaquille O'Neal the big guy on the floor check and that'll go [Applause] let no magic are going to win this series over the Chicago Bulls the Orlando Magic here [Applause] [Music] Center in Chicago and defeat the Chicago Bulls for the first and only time in his prime Michael Jordan and the Bulls were knocked out of the playoffs the once unbeatable team had fallen to a 22 year old Shaquille O'Neal and company and Shaq's master plan had finally become a reality a run that shocked the basketball world and even Shaq himself I'm studying him because I want what he has study on how the refs evil study out he's talking to his teammates and it was fine I'm studying his relationship with him and Phil Jackson I'm studying how the ponies look at him and fear him and all of that I definitely want that he was the best in the game I wanted his spot keep in mind this is a Michael Jordan a season and a half removed from basketball and only 25 games into his return to the league a 32 year old MJ who hadn't quite gotten his touch back and was still adjusting to the hardwood and he's 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 ever knock off Michael Jordan in his prime the kid that wants it to be Jordan had beaten Jordan and it would be nice and fitting if the story ended right here a young Shaquille O'Neal dragging a once terrible team to their biggest playoff success in the organization's existence slaying the once unbeatable monster in Chicago but if there's one thing we've learned about basketball in the 90s Michael Jordan always gets the last laugh following their defeat to the magic Michael Jordan and the Bulls went on their 1996 revenge tour absolutely bullying 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 squad were still the best basketball team on the planet but behind this return to glory an underlying motive for their success was driving Jordan's to get back to that rare moment of failure in the previous season to get revenge only man to beat him while he was on top following a regular season where the Bulls won two of three matchups against the magic once again Jordan and Shaq were set to face off in the playoffs this time in the Conference Finals to decide who would go on to fight for a championship Shaq thought it was his time but Mike had to remind the diesel that his time was up Michael has seen his teammates rise to the occasion playing with the fire and determination that as the Bulls one win away from a trip to the finals but one giant roadblock still stands in the way oh my move Cindy Michael George use of the boat and push the gun boy [Applause] [Music] Jordan got pie of the third Jordan doesn't get an opportunity here there's some parts operating yes [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] points after losing to the magic in the season prior the Bulls went on to sweep them in the 1996 Eastern Conference Finals including a thirty-eight point blowout in Game one and holding the magic to just 67 points in Game three in the 1995 playoffs the magic won by an average margin of just one and a quarter points winning the series in six in the 1996 playoffs the Bulls won by an average margin of nearly 17 points a beat-down of historic proportions to put this series into perspective the 2017 Warriors had one of the most dominating runs in NBA playoff history going sixteen and one on their path to a championship in the finals they nearly swept the Cavs winning by an average margin of just eight and a half points Jordan and the Bulls didn't just beat the magic they absolutely buried them in their own building but despite getting swept Shaq still held his own putting up numbers that make you wonder how such a great player on a 61 team could get walked like this oh yeah they were playing the best player to ever touch a basketball on the best team in league history but Jordans beat down on Shaq doesn't end there see from 1992 to 1996 the Orlando Magic were quickly becoming one of the best teams in the league getting better every single season they had a prime Shaq a prime Penny Hardaway a borderline all-star and Nick Anderson and a three-time champion and Horace Grant the most lethal offense in the NBA and they were fresh off of a Finals appearance they had all the tools to make a run at a championship for several seasons but of course this never happened despite finding success in Orlando Shaq took his talents to LA and of course the rest is history but one of the biggest what-ifs of 90s in ba is the Shaq and Penny duo the idea of Shaquille O'Neal taking a new underwhelming franchise to the promised land rising up as the new face of the league now there are several reasons as to why Shaq left the magic but one that is rarely addressed was his virtually unspoken rivalry with Michael Jordan was Shaq dodging Michael Jordan well I wouldn't go that far but the diesel was without a doubt shaken up by MJ and the Bulls his ego was hurt and he knew that as long as he was in the East and as long as Jordan was playing basketball he would never be the guy but in hindsight Shaquille O'Neal's shortcomings at the hands of Michael Jordan were actually a blessing in disguise for his career because after going toe-to-toe with MJ every other player every other team was in Shaq's words barbeque chicken Michael God have taught me how to go through the next couple walking off the court Mike grabs me and said before you succeed you must first learn to fail and that helped me out when I made the move to LA and kept family kept family upheld and can't the point where we got a win cuz that's how I became Who I am today so although we can thank Michael Jordan for dismantling this team and stripping us from the most lethal young duo of the 90s we can also thank MJ for running Shaq out of Orlando and giving us this some rivalries have been cemented in history books because of the impact they had on the game others were so subtle that they virtually went undetected with MJ out of the picture a young Shaquille O'Neal thought he had the league on lock that the throne was his for the taking but Michael Jordan gave him a harsh reminder that the crown wasn't his quite yet hope you guys enjoyed and as always until next time [Music] [Music]

Channel: JxmyHighroller

Views: 11,034,260

Rating: 4.8751755 out of 5

Keywords: LeBron James, Michael Jordan, Kawhi Leonard, LA Lakers, LA Clippers, Bucks, House of Highlights, ESPN, NBA highlights, Zion Williamson, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Luka Doncic, Jimmy Highroller, Kristopher London, Lamelo Ball, NBA mix, James Harden, Stephen Curry, Best dunks, Kobe Bryant, NBA 60 points, Max Kellerman, Stephen A Smith, Shannon Sharp, Celtics Broke LeBron, tallest basketball player in the world, Ball brothers, Shaq tries to bully, Shaq vs Michael Jordan

Id: NebExfqy5sI

Length: 15min 5sec (905 seconds)

Published: Sat Jan 18 2020

Reddit Comments

[u/SillyRabbit2121]

I always wondered if all time greats knew when they were playing other future all time greats when they matched up against them as a rookie.

[u/CenturionDC]

Really good video.

[u/WhatsUpBras]

but but but MJ never faced tough opponents