“Michael Jordan Told Me Where He Was Gonna Shoot”: Shaquille O’Neal Chose MJ Over 6ft 9” LeBron James as a Potential Teammate

Shaquille O’Neal is one of many players who have gone up against Michael Jordan. Diesel has seen firsthand just what His Airness is capable of.

From his insane dunking abilities to his unstoppable mid-range game. Shaq was always in awe of MJ.

Even Jordan’s trash talk was something he had never seen. Although, in hindsight, he did realize that it was very similar to that of Larry Bird.

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Shaq shares a story of Michael Jordan trash-talking him and it is eerily similar to Larry Bird

Trash talk is a part of sports, especially in basketball. Over the years, there have been many great trash-talkers in the NBA, and Shaquille O’Neal has faced one of them.

Michael Jordan loved talking trash to his opponents, and with Shaq, it was no different. While on the Dan Patrick Show, Shaq was asked to pick between 6ft 9″ LeBron James and MJ. The Big Aristotle unsurprisingly picked Jordan and revealed what it was like facing him. Specifically, how his trash talk was similar to Larry Bird’s.

“Yes of course. It wasn’t really trash… it’s just that…he’s the type of player that would say, “All right imma go to this spot right here, and imma shoot the jumper!”, and he would do it.”

Patrick would then point out to Shaq that it was eerily similar to how Larry Legend dealt with his opponents. To which Diesel said he had heard. Bird was known to have told several opponents exactly what he was going to do, and even followed up on it.

It is interesting that MJ borrowed this from Larry. After all, Bird was the one guy the GOAT could never really beat.

MJ did not like facing Larry Bird and has a losing record against him

In the 1980s, Michael Jordan was the rising star of the NBA. The man was bound to win a championship but kept being held back one way or another. One such way, or person to be exact, was Larry Bird. MJ struggled against the Hick from French Lick and had a losing record against him.

The two had some amazing battles. But, at the end of the day, there can be no denying just who is better.

Also Read: Michael Jordan, Who Receives 5% on Jordan Sales, Earned $2 Million More Off The Court Than As A Bull in 1989