Shaquille O’Neal is enjoying the off-season. With Inside The NBA on break, O’Neal has resorted to every sports fan’s favorite pass time, the what-if debates. This time Shaq posted a video of the 1996 All-Star game. In the clip, Michael Jordan assisted Shaq on a dunk. The video served as the perfect reminder of what would happen if the duo ended up playing together on the Chicago Bulls. The video also led to Shaquille O’Neal wondering about the hypothetical team-up.
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The debate around Shaquille O’Neal and Michael Jordan teaming up was always there. Toni Kukoc, Jordan’s former teammate even said that if Shaq joined the Bulls in ’96, it would be “The best lineup ever assembled “.
Shaquille O’Neal thinks about a fantasy pairing with Michael Jordan
Shaquille O’Neal recently shared a post on his story which piqued many people’s interest. The post was captioned, “The NBA is lucky that MJ and Shaq never teamed up“. The post had a video of the 1996 All-Star game, which saw Michael assisting Shaq on a slam dunk while drawing 3 defenders with him.
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The pairing of Shaq and Michael during the 1996 All-Star game was magical. Shaq, who was still on The Orlando Magic at the time, was playing in his fourth All-Star game. Michael, who would go on to win his fifth title that year, played beautifully alongside Shaq in the All-Star game.
It was the first time the world saw the duo play together, and everyone was spellbound. Michael Jordan was named All-Star game MVP, with 20 points, 1 steal, 1 assist, and 4 rebounds. Even Dr. O’Neal had a dominant outing with 25 points, 10 rebounds, 1 steal and 1 block. The East comfortably won the game with a score line of 129-118.
Shaq explains why he never teamed up with MJ
Shaquille O’Neal has always played alongside superstar guards. From Penny Hardaway to Kobe and finally Dwayne Wade. But Shaq once had the chance to play with the best of all time, Michael Jordan.
Shaq O’Neal: “If I knew it was okay to join people, I would’ve joined the #Bulls”
They’d have 10+ #NBA championships pic.twitter.com/9SbgDOJl66
— Die-Hard Chicago Bulls Fans (@DieHardCBfans) September 1, 2023
Shaq, during an episode of The Big Podcast, talked about the situation, “If I knew it was okay to join people, f**k I would have joined the Bulls“. The perception from fellow peers and the public ruled out Shaq considering the Bulls as a possible destination.
But fortunately for us, Shaq played alongside Kobe Bryant, the closest thing to Michael we have ever seen. So it is safe to say, that Michael and Shaq would most probably have a three-peat of their own if they played together.
