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When Shaquille O'Neal Revealed How He and Penny Hardaway Beat Michael Jordan in 1995
Shaquille O'Neal is one of the most entertaining characters in the sports world, but he was also one of the most dominant centers in the history of NBA when he played.
The Chicago Bulls, led by Michael Jordan, were the most dominant team of the 1990s. No team could stop the Bulls when Jordan wore their iconic red, white, and black uniforms until 1995 when they faced the hungry Orlando Magic in the second round of the Playoffs.
The Magic were winning under the direction of the nimble big man Shaquille O'Neal and the extremely gifted Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway. They were ready to take command of the Eastern Conference. Having recently come back from a break, MJ was still getting his game back. But even with that, "His Airness" was still a threat, so the Magic needed to be at their best to take on the Bulls.
What did Shaq say?
Because of his extraordinary talent, Michael Jordan instilled fear in the hearts of his opponents. Enemies were hesitant to enter the arena when the Bulls were on deck. The Magic, though, did not give up. Shaq relied on their "dog" mentality to win because they genuinely thought they could.
Shaq said, "You gotta have dogs, right? I knew what my mentality was. When I looked at Penny, I knew that was his mentality, too. If your two main guys believe that you can win, everyone else is going to believe it too."
"Diesel" attributed much of their success in that series to Penny, who remained unfazed by the man he was paired with, MJ. In that series, which the Magic won 4-2, the 6-foot-7 guard averaged 18.5 points, 7.5 assists, and 1.8 steals per game. He added, "Penny is the only guy I've seen who didn't care that he was playing against Michael Jordan. He had that same fearless mentality that I had.”
What did Hardaway say?
Although Penny acknowledged that Jordan was the "Greatest of All Time," he was not afraid to take on his challenge. He realized that they had to overcome the best to be the best.
Penny said, "From my point of view, it was respect, but it wasn't fear. The Bulls had instilled fear in people, but for me, it was an anxiousness to get to it. If you're the greatest of all time, which I respect, then you're going to have to show me. That was my mentality. I wanted to play against Michael Jordan. If we were going to get to a championship, we had to go through him."
That postseason, the Magic’s Cinderella run did not end happily. Their incredible journey came to an end with a bittersweet 4-0 loss to Hakeem Olajuwon and the Houston Rockets in the NBA Finals.
ALSO READ: 'Shaq is Already Insecure..': Shaquille O'Neal and Zach Edey’s Meetup Sends NBA Fans Into Frenzy
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