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Did Shaquille O'Neal Fear Michael Jordan? All You Need to Know
Shaquille O'Neal was one of the most dominant players ever to play in the NBA, but was he fearful of Michael Jordan? Let's get to know.
Even now, the anxiety surrounding Michael Jordan's legacy is a popular subject on NBA talk shows. In response, Shaquille O'Neal, like most of his peers, acknowledged that he feared Michael Jordan on the court in an interview with The Big Podcast. Shaq brought this up in a heated discussion with Mario Chalmers about NBA G.O.A.Ts. The 52-year-old pointed out to his guest that not even the biggest star of the current era, LeBron James, seemed to be able to intimidate anyone.
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, he claimed, this was not the case. "The Big Aristotle" recalled how MJ's presence at the time caused everyone to be wary. He even placed himself in this bracket in humility.
“I have heard players say, including myself, ‘I feared Mike [Michael Jordan].'”
Shaq even went into further detail about this when he appeared on IMPAULSIVE about two years ago. He recalled that the only NBA player who had ever scared him was Michael Jordan. The four-time champion clarified that part of his unease was due to his admiration for Michael Jackson. When the latter started outplaying him on the court, this only got worse.
“He is the only man that had me terrified on the court ’cause I went from high school, admiring him, college, admiring him, and then he is right there in front of you and all the s**t you see on your poster, he is doing it in real life. He came by me so fast sometimes, I was like, ‘Oh, s**t.’ Yeah, I was terrified.”
It was obvious that Shaq was superior to Jordan in terms of physical characteristics. Few people could compare to his enormous presence, standing 7 feet 1 inch tall with 7 feet 4-inch wingspan. He was a part of the last Orlando Magic team to defeat Michael Jordan's Bulls in the playoffs in 1995.
Even with this advantage, 6'6" Jordan always made Shaq feel uneasy. He also had valid reasons for doing it. For instance, the following season, MJ sought retribution for losing in the playoffs in 1995. He averaged 29.5 points per game to help the Bulls defeat O'Neal's Magic 4-0 in the Eastern Conference Finals of 1996.
These incidents gave Shaq's comments more weight. Numerous other people also succumbed to Jordan's unwavering desire to outperform his rivals. Throughout his career, The Black Jesus' success was largely attributed to this mindset. The NBA community was not shocked by Shaq's fear of MJ in the least.
ALSO READ: When Michael Jordan Expressed His Disappointment With The Jordan Rules Book
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