Shaquille O'Neal once pleaded for help against Michael Jordan's Bulls after getting hacked: "Hulk Hogan, I need you"
Shaquille O'Neal and the Orlando Magic faced off against Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls back in 1995.
While O'Neal was the most dominant big man in the game, the Bulls had their ways of dealing with him. With Shaq getting hacked all series long, he once mentioned pleading to Hulk Hogan for help.
The 1995 Eastern Conference semifinals proved to clash of NBA giants. The up-and-coming Orlando Magic were taking on the Chicago Bulls. The Magic were driven by a dominant young force in Shaquille O'Neal. Meanwhile, the Bulls were hoping to return to title greatness with Michael Jordan coming out of retirement.
It goes without saying that the Magic were a force to be reckoned with. Shaq's power was already something to be wary of, but Chicago had plans to contain him.
Chicago's big-man rotation of Luc Longley, Bill Wennington and Will Perdue was tasked with dealing with him, but the manner of this was slightly different. The trio of Bulls' big men were required to hack Shaq whenever they got the chance. For this, they even earned the nickname the "Hack Pack."
The physical game plan was blatantly obvious from Game 1, and after Game 2, Shaq knew he needed help. At this stage, he called out to WWE legend Hulk Hogan for help.
As per Sports Illustrated's Phil Taylor's article from 1995, Shaq said:
"Hulk [Hogan], I need you, man."
O'Neal's frustration was understandable. Having to deal with physical play while being the focal point of a team's offense can be exhausting work.
With the Magic emerging as victorious after a dominant performance in Game 3, Orlando went on to finish the series 4-2 and knocked the Bulls out of the playoffs.
Read: "I thought you were a god, but you're human" - Shaquille O'Neal recalls his first experience of playing against Michael Jordan
Michael Jordan got his revenge on Shaquille O'Neal
After flaming out of the playoffs the previous year, Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls held on to their grudge for the next year. With a chance to take on Shaquille O'Neal and the Orlando Magic in the ECF, Jordan and the Bulls thrashed the team that beat them the previous year.
The Bulls didn't let the Magic win a single game in the series. A dominant 121-83 win in Game 1 set the tone for the rest of the series. A 45-point performance in Game 4 by Jordan was simply the icing on the cake.
A solid ECF display gave the Bulls momentum to carry them through to the Finals. After beating the Supersonics, Chicago raised the trophy once again.
Read: Video: Shaquille O'Neal shares first experience playing Michael Jordan and Patrick Ewing "First time I played him I was terrified...Shut your a** up rookie"