Michael Jordan and Shaquille O’Neal were two of the most dominant players during their time, so you can imagine how entertaining a one-on-one between the two would have been.
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The two stars dominated the NBA from 1990 to about 2003. Of course, as you all know, Jordan won six NBA titles between 1991 and 1998, playing himself to the top of the NBA world after a rocky start to his NBA career (in terms of winning).
Shaq would see success after Jordan’s era, leading the Los Angeles Lakers to a three-peat between 2000 and 2002. Shaq and Jordan matched up a few times in the NBA, but none of those matchups can quite match the entertainment when the two legends went one on one with each other.
Shaquille O’Neal Supposedly Tricked Michael Jordan During The One On One
Playing one on one with Shaq seems like a nightmare. How do you account for his size, skill, and ferocity? It doesn’t matter if you’re Michael Jordan or anyone else, Shaq could dominate against anyone.
However, ahead of the 1996 NBA All Star game, the two still decided to butt heads with each other and engage in a friendly one on one.
Shaq had the NBA goat fooled, however. Using a savvy spin move, Shaq got away from Jordan’s defensive stronghold, and took it hard to the basket for an easy layup.
You can see the one on one here:
When @SHAQ and Michael Jordan (@Jumpman23) played one-on-one #TheLastDance pic.twitter.com/M4azORTzwP
— Vala Afshar (@ValaAfshar) May 4, 2020
Of course, things remained friendly between the two after, and there was no bad blood ever. Jordan and Shaq would match up a couple of times in the NBA playoffs during their time in the league together.
The first time came in 1995 when Jordan came back from his first retirement. Shaking off the rust, Jordan and the Bulls couldn’t get it going against Penny Hardaway and Shaq and would fall in six games.
However, Jordan would have his revenge the very next year as the Bulls would sweep Shaq and Penny’s Orlando Magic en-route to an NBA title, capping off a 72-10 season (best in NBA history at the time), starting their second three-peat with MJ.
