Getty Image / Vincent Laforet / AFP
When Shaquille O’Neal entered the NBA as a rookie in the 1992-93 season as the #1 overall pick by the Magic he was an immediate force to be reckoned with and won Rookie of the Year while Barkley won MVP but Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls won their third straight NBA Championship and were on top of the entire world.
At that time, there was no athlete on planet earth more famous than Michael Jordan and it wasn’t even close. He was a superstar. And Shaq spoke about this some with JJ Reddick on the latest episode of The Big Podcast with Shaq.
Their conversation started with the typical ‘Michael Jordan vs Lebron James’ GOAT debate and Shaq says any argument about who the true NBA GOAT is also needs to include Kobe Bryan. He’s absolutely correct about that. And while I’m tired of hearing ‘GOAT’ arguments for the past 10+ years and Jordan vs LeBron debates, I realized what I’m tired of is talking heads on TV debating, stans on Twitter arguing, and schmucks at the bar yammering on about who is better.
Shaq was there. He played against them all. His opinion actually matters. But then the conversation shifts and JJ Reddick asks Shaq what it was like to playing against Michael Jordan as a rookie. MJ has just back-to-back NBA Championships with the Bulls and was coming off a scoring title and regular season MVP in the 1991-92 season when Shaq entered the 1992-93 season. At the 4:40 mark in the video, Shaq says seeing Micahel Jordan on the court “was like seeing god.”
Shaq On Playing Against Michael Jordan In His Rookie Season
Shaquille O’Neal‘s full quote on seeing Michael Jordan on the court for the first time during Shaq’s rookie season is:
“Man, I don’t know what God looks like, but it’s like seeing God. Because… I went to a couple NBA games as a youngster and I wasn’t really impressed (with) San Antonio watching David Robinson. David Robinson impressed me a little bit but the stuff that he (Michael Jordan) did on TV and then you see it in real-life it was like ‘oh my god, it’s really real.’”
“He came at me like one of the first plays of the game and in my mind I’m like ‘I’m gonna get dunked on.’ So I tried to beat him early (and) he slipped by me but I bumped him but he still laid it up on me and the crowd went crazy. But it also gave me confidence because he was killing us. But he came off a screen one time and he shot it and I didn’t block it but I was there. I was like ‘if I can get up early and maybe jump a little higher and go a little harder maybe I can get it.’ In order to be the best you have to beat the best. I know I wasn’t as good as him back then but jealousy motivates me.”
I think I got to see Shaq play one time for the Orlando Magic when I was kid. I believe it was his sophomore season and for the life of me I couldn’t tell you who the Magic played, it was some sort of Boy Scouts trip I won for selling the most Boy Scouts popcorn in my troop but man, it was awesome. I went with my older brother and it was my first NBA game, that Shaq-Penny Hardaway duo was incredible. Truly the good ol’ days for me. I loved hearing Shaq tell this story.
Semi-related, Michael Jordan won a billfish tournament over the weekend in Abaco, The Bahamas after catching 5 white marlin, 4 blue marlin, and a sailfish. Michael Jordan reeled in 3 of the 4 blue marlin himself!