"I can't let him dunk on me": Rookie Shaquille O'Neal had one goal during face-off with Michael Jordan, who erupted for an explosive 64 points
NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal may have been arguably the most dominant big man in NBA history.
However, early on in his career, O’Neal was intimidated about matching up with Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan. In particular, the big man was worried about Jordan potentially throwing down a highlight dunk on him.
O’Neal once recalled his second matchup with the Bulls legend, during an interview on TNT. His Orlando Magic were set to take on Jordan’s Bulls on Jan. 16, 1993, just four days after falling 122-106 to Chicago.
Before the game, O’Neal was nervous about the rematch. So, he tried to calm himself down by remembering that he didn’t have to guard Jordan one-on-one:
“Before the game, I was terrified, but to relieve pressure off that, (I said), ‘I ain’t gotta guard him,’” O’Neal said.
O’Neal added that his main goal ahead of the game was just to not let Jordan posterize him:
“Second thing I said, ‘I can’t let him dunk on me. That’s not gonna happen,’” O’Neal said.
During the game, to avoid the embarrassment of being dunked on by Jordan, O’Neal committed a hard foul against the Bulls legend:
“So, it was a play when he comes baseline, (and) I had to touch him up,” O’Neal said. “Cos one, I’m not getting dunked on because I’ll never live that down from family members, homeboys, barber shops. That’d be a poster forever cos Michael’s the man at the top.”
Following the hard foul, the big man tried to help Jordan up. However, it was at that point when Jordan taught O’Neal a lesson about not helping his opponents:
“But Michael also taught me something very valuable,” O’Neal said. “So, when I go to help him up, he said, ‘Don’t ever help nobody up. Great foul. Don’t do that. I don’t need your help. But I’m coming back. Don’t you worry.’”
During the matchup, Jordan caught fire. However, the Magic were able to weather Jordan’s scoring barrage and keep the game close. It was at that point that O’Neal started to realize that he had a real chance to beat the best player in the league:
“I remember that Mike was killing us, but we were close,” O’Neal said. “When you see the light at the end of the tunnel, you go for it. ‘Damn, I’m about to beat Michael Jordan.’”
The Magic went on to beat the Bulls 128-124 in overtime, despite Jordan finishing with a game-high 64 points on 55.1% shooting. Meanwhile, O’Neal finished with 29 points and game-highs of 24 rebounds and five blocks on 61.1% shooting.
O’Neal’s team was over the moon about knocking off the back-to-back defending champs:
“Everybody was happy, especially Nick (Anderson), because he was from Chicago,” O’Neal said. “It was a great confidence booster.”
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Shaquille O’Neal said that Michael Jordan taught him how to reach the next level
Later in the same interview, about his early matchup with Michael Jordan, Shaquille O’Neal credited Jordan for helping him achieve greatness.
The big man said that Jordan was the person who taught him to embrace failure to reach his full potential:
“Mike is the guy that taught me how to go to the next level,” O’Neal said. “Down the line, we beat him in the Eastern Conference finals to go to the Finals. We get swept by Kenny (Smith) and them.
"The next year, (the Bulls) sweep us. Walking off the court, Mike grabs me and says, ‘Before you succeed, you must first learn to fail,’ and that helped me out when I made the move to LA and kept failing, kept failing, kept failing, and it came to the point where, ‘We gotta win.’”
Most would agree that Jordan’s advice paid off and then some as O’Neal went on to win four NBA titles with the LA Lakers and Miami Heat.
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