Shaquille O’Neal continues the tradition of rolling out IG stories with his throwback tapes of dunking over past Centers. In another such instance, he posted an Insta story of him posterizing David Robinson and Hakeem Olajuwon, during the 1996 All-Star Game. In the story posted by O’Neal’s Insta fan page, shaqwithme, a young Shaq warned the legends that he was going to dominate the Western Conference Centers.
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During the build-up to the 1996 All-Star Game, NBC announcer Peter Vecsey asked O’Neal about the furious reception he has gotten from legends as someone who has risen to “superstardom so quickly”. The segment then cuts to David Robinson referring to Shaq as someone “who loves to play the media game”. Agreeing with him, Olajuwon stated that O’Neal is “supposed to be fun, we’re here to win”. Then Vecsey asked Shaq how he’d like to respond to the veterans.
“I’m going to get you guys today, watch Out,” responded Shaq in the build-up to the 1996 All-Star Game.
Then, the video cuts to East Center Shaq receiving a pass from the corner and then soaring up over the outstretched body of Hakeem Olajuwon. Then it showed Shaq running to the middle of the lane and throwing down a mean jam over David Robinson. These two dunks made for incredible posters. To mark his incredible jams, the pumped-up Center brought out his Omega Phi Si fraternity’s “Que Dawg!” celebration.
Shaq finished the game with 25 points and 10 rebounds in East’s 129:118 win as Michael Jordan nabbed the 1996 ALl-Star MVP award. Therefore, a rising Shaq made a statement to two of the greatest athletes of all time. He could walk the talk and his meteoric ascension made even veterans like Patrick Ewing resent him. As for Shaq, he never backed away from battling some of the greatest of all time. He had another special moment during the 1996 All-Star Game.
Shaquille O’Neal put on a skills show versus Michael Jordan
Before the 1996 All-Star Game, Michael Jordan and Shaquille O’Neal had a casual 1v1 match-up in their pre-game warmup jersey. To start, Jordan made an uncontested mid-range shot, and Shaq flashed some moves that aren’t usually associated with big men.
The Magic Center hit a deep mid-ranger after a sweet and short dribble move. Then, on defense, he closed out MJ’s turnaround mid-range jumper brilliantly which caused the ball to go in and then out. After the defensive stop, O’Neal put on a post-play masterclass.
He took Jordan to the middle then faked a spin move and quickly pivoted to his left side for a lovely short-range jumper. This move was akin to Hakeem Olajuwon’s signature “Dream Shake”. The big fella also put on a show during the 1996 Olympics “Dream Team” practice in Atlanta. His dribbling skills looked sleek. He buried deep-range shots while also bringing out his reliable baby hook.
As a nimble-footed and heavyweight Center, the Orlando Magic version of Shaquille O’Neal was a force to reckon with. Although it took him eight years to win an NBA title, he had already mastered many One-on-One against the top-tier Centers of all time.
