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“Don’t EVER help nobody up Shaq!”: Shaquille O’Neal remembers the time when he brought down Michael Jordan as he attempted to dunk on him

Tonoy Sengupta
Published

“When you lose, you’re forgotten; no one wants to go their grave forgotten”: Michael Jordan revealed the harsh reality behind glory and obscurity in the NBA

Shaquille O’Neal speaks on how Bulls legend Michael Jordan almost dunked on him and the conversation they had right after

It’s been a while since he hung his sneakers up for good, but Shaquille O’Neal is still considered by many to be the most dominant player of all time.

The 4-time champion loved to humiliate opponents during his hay day, blocking shots and dunk attempts flawlessly while also giving you a dominant performance on the other end of the floor.

Speaking of dunk attempts, let’s talk about the time MJ tried to posterize Shaq, but got completely denied… or well, Shaquille O’Neal’s account of the whole thing.

Also Read: “Never be satisfied with your achievements, Shaquille O’Neal”: The Big Diesel spoke about how his father shaped him up to be the person he is now

 

Shaquille O’Neal talks about the whole experience of fouling Michael Jordan when he went up for his dunk attempt

Given the jumping prowess Michael Jordan is known for (among other things, of course), the man probably dunked damn near every player in the league during his time in it. So, when he went up against Shaq, the man was justifiably pretty confident that he’d make it.

What happened instead is that Shaquille O’Neal fouled him and brought him down. When he went to pick up MJ though, he had a very interesting response waiting for him.

Here is his recent account of the whole thing on NBA.com.

“I take pride in never being dunked on. In 19 years I can probably say I’ve probably only been dunked on three or four times… But his Airness Micheal Jordan came baseline one time and tried to dunk on me and it hurt my arm but I had to flagrant foul him and lay him out.

When I went to shake his hand to pick him up he said ‘don’t ever help nobody up’ and he bounced back up. And I knew then why he was the best player in the game. It resonated with me later because Pat Riley once told me ‘you show other players respect by showing them none.’ And Michael Jordan was like ‘yes we’re friends, we’re fraternity brothers, we’re on different teams. But when we’re on this court, I don’t know you Shaq.”

Really, did you expect any different a reaction?

That right there was the very epitome of Michael Jordan.

Also Read: “I hit Shaquille O’Neal in the gut because I can’t reach his big head”: Charles Barkley claimed victory over the Big Diesel during their infamous brawl in 1999

About the author

Tonoy Sengupta

Tonoy Sengupta

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Tonoy Sengupta is a Senior Editor at The SportsRush. Coming from an athletically inclined family, he has been surrounded by sports ever since he was 4 years old. But, while initially pouring all his time into Football (soccer), at 14, Tonoy discovered basketball through the countless highlights of Stephen Curry humiliating players from Curry Land. And just like that, a fiery passion for the game was ignited within Tonoy. And soon after, he decided to become a student of journalism, graduating in 2022, and choosing sports as his area of interest. Today, you can find him spending 99% of his time browsing through every type of content on every team in the NBA, before uncorking everything he has found to the world. In the 1% he isn't doing this, you can find him playing Basketball, Football, Volleyball, or practically any other sport he has had the opportunity to learn.

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