Shaquille O’Neal backing down from a challenge or being soft? That may seem unfathomable to many in the NBA community today who have become accustomed to the dominant tag next to the big fella. But back in 1995, he was naive and allowed his rivals to walk right over him. That’s what he recalled in an interview with The Ringer.
Advertisement
O’Neal was drafted to the NBA in 1992 by the Orlando Magic, and he made it to the Finals just three years later, where they went up against the Houston Rockets, led by Hakeem Olajuwon. A young and excited Shaq, sadly, got swept 4-0, and looking back, he feels he was too nice to his opponents.
Shaq recalled having the same agent as Olajuwon, which allowed him to work with the Nigerian superstar. And since he had the utmost respect for the former MVP, he was not trash talking him. Olajuwon, however, gave him the cold shoulder. And that likely got into Shaq’s head. It was a mistake he vowed to never make again.
“I tried talking to him and he didn’t respond, so that kind of let me know that he had me,” Shaq admitted. He realized that trying to be the ‘good guy’ in these high pressure situations in the NBA did more harm than good. “I knew that if I said something to the Georgetown boys, they’d get pissed. I knew David Robinson would get all military on me. With Hakeem, I’d elbow him and he’d go, “Nice elbow, brotha.”
So Shaq promised himself that if he ever made it back to the Finals, he wouldn’t show anyone respect. He’d stay locked in and do whatever it took to win — even if it meant not being nice to his rivals. He had learned his lesson. “That’s why I said to myself, “If I ever get back to the Finals, I don’t give a [f***] who I’m playing—they gon’ die.”
“No more being nice or respectful or any of that. I didn’t follow my own rules. I actually showed him too much respect,” he added, before revealing that Hakeem was averaging 31 points in the series, four more than him, because he had played soft.
Shaq would eventually go on to win four NBA championships — three with the Los Angeles Lakers and one with the Miami Heat. But looking back at that 1995 loss still stings, especially since it was likely their own overconfidence that caused them to drop the ball.
Beating Michael Jordan got to the Magic’s head
Michael Jordan was the man to beat in the 1990s, with his Chicago Bulls dynasty steamrolling past everyone in the NBA. But in 1994, when Jordan left to try his hand at baseball, others saw an opportunity. Jordan did return after a short while, but it took him some time to get going again — and unfortunately, that rusty version of Jordan and the Bulls ran into the Magic in the 1995 playoffs.
The Magic won, and Shaq’s team was euphoric after beating a squad that had, not long ago, completed a three-peat. They partied heavily after becoming Eastern Conference Champions — but in doing so, they were digging their own graves.
“That was my fault we lost. As a leader, I didn’t lead. After we beat the Bulls, I let up. We beat Mike, we straight. We didn’t play in Houston before, and off the record, we had eight days off. Me and these guys were doing stuff we weren’t supposed to be doing. We were just celebrating,” Shaq admitted.
Maybe if they had locked in, they would have put up a better fight against the Rockets. They still might have lost, but at least they could have avoided the embarrassing sweep that still haunts Shaq and Orlando to this day.
