"We was going crazy like we beat Mike" - Shaquille O'Neal shares losing 1995 NBA Finals to Hakeem Olajuwon turned him into dominant force
During the 1995 season, Shaquille O'Neal found himself on the cusp of winning the first title of his career. Just recently, the Hall of Fame big man touched on what led to his downfall.
At the age of 22, Shaquille O'Neal managed to lead the Orlando Magic to the NBA Finals. However, things did not go well for them on the game's biggest stage. They ended up losing in a sweep to Hakeem Olajuwon and the Houston Rockets.
During a recent episode of his podcast, Shaq admitted that their finals loss was on him. The team lost focus after partying too hard celebrating their upset victory over Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls in the conference finals.
"We beat him and we had 10 days off and that's when the trouble started parties in my crib parties in D Scott crib, I was renting private jets back before that was a thing me," Shaq said.
"We fly to Atlanta we in Magic City for two days cuz we had five days off so we was going crazy like we beat Mike."
Even though he cited a lack of focus, Shaq still averaged 28.0 points, 12.5 rebounds and 6.3 assists in the 1995 NBA Finals.
The 1995 NBA Finals taught Shaquille O'Neal a valubale lesson
Maturity is a key piece of development for superstars in any sport. Even though the Orlando Magic lost the finals is lackluster fashion that year, Shaquille O'Neal managed to turn it into a teaching moment for him.
As a center, Shaq idolized Hakeem Olajuwon growing up. Getting to face off against him in the NBA Finals was a dream come true, but admitted it created a weak spot for him.
Later on in the episode, Shaq said he ended up taking it easy on the Houston Rockets because Hakeem was someone he looked up to. After that finals, he made a promise to himself to never let anyone get off that easy again.
"When I played against Hakeem who was my idol I showed him too much respect," Shaq said. "I lost but it taught me that if I ever get back to that position again to dominate and that's what I did."
Looking back at his career now, Shaq lived up to his word. Following the 1995 season, he went on to win multiple championships with the LA Lakers and Miami Heat. The superstar big man also cemented himself as one of the most dominant centers in NBA history.