Shaquille O’Neal was drafted out of LSU with the number one overall pick in the 1992 NBA Draft by the Orlando Magic. After having been a bottom tier team in the league since the franchise’s inception, they would immediately start to win games with Shaq on their roster.
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By his sophomore season with them in 1993-94, they had reached their first ever Playoffs after winning 50 games in the regular season. They would get swept by the Indiana Pacers but this postseason berth was a good sign for things to come.
The Magic, the very next season, made the NBA Finals after beating the likes of the Pacers and Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls in the Eastern Conference. Unfortunately for Shaq and company, Hakeem Olajuwon’s Rockets would sweep them in those Finals.
The 1995-96 saw the Magic take a step back and lose to the 72-10 Bulls in the Eastern Conference Finals as they would get swept yet again.
Shaquille O’Neal on the debate between him and Dwight Howard
The Orlando Magic’s official Twitter account asked their followers who they would choose between Shaquille O’Neal and Dwight Howard when comparing their days with the franchise. ‘Inside the NBA’ had a bit of fun with this as they brought up the graphic on their show and debated amongst themselves.
Charles Barkley almost immediately chose Dwight over Shaq and in doing so, tried to convince Kenny ‘The Jet’ Smith to do the same as well. This hilariously led to Shaq staring the former Rockets star down in an attempt to get him to choose him over Howard.
Shaq would then say that he doesn’t care who gets chosen because he’s sold his mansion in Orlando. The house that he’s referring to is his iconic 31,000 square-foot pad that went for $11 million in 2021 after 3 years on the market.
Dwight Howard had an illustrious career with the Orlando Magic
Despite the beef that Shaquille O’Neal had and still has with Dwight Howard, the latter too had quite the career with the Orlando Magic. Having gotten drafted by them in 2004 with the first overall pick, he would have his crowning achievement with them be his 2008-09 season when he took them to the NBA Finals.
The Magic lost to Kobe Bryant and the Lakers in those Finals but his individual accomplishments on that team are nothing to be scoffed at. He was an All-Star every single season with them except his rookie and sophomore years, he led the league in rebounding 4 times with them, blocks twice, and was a 3x Defensive Player of the Year.
