Image Source: Bleacher Report
Shaq O’Neal reflects on their 64 Point/29 point duel in 1993, saying, “Michael Jordan Was Lucky I Didn’t Guard Him”
The Orlando Magic chose Shaquille O’Neal as their first overall choice for a reason. In his debut week in the league, he was named Player of the Week, proving that “Diesel” was here to stay. In just 4 years when Shaq was on the club, the Magic rose to the top of the Eastern Conference contenders. But none other than Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls were Shaq’s biggest rivals.
They only avoided Jordan in the postseason once between 1994 and 1996 because, after all, he wasn’t playing in the NBA that year. In 6 games, they would remove the 3-time champions from the ECSF title race. Inevitably, the Bulls would exact retribution in the 1995–96 campaign.
On January 16, 1993, Shaquille O’Neal and the Orlando Magic faced up against Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls. O’Neal only had a few months left in his rookie season, yet he still put up a ridiculous stat line when playing the NBA champs in the current season.
Shaq scored 29 points while grabbing an amazing 24 rebounds on 11-18 field goal attempts. In the game, he would indeed block 5 shots. However, Michael’s 64 points and 5 steals were the actual game-changer. It took him 49 shots to get there, but he finished with 64 points while shooting 55% from the field.
O’Neal said on Instagram that MJ was lucky that night as he wasn’t guarded by him because if he had been, he wouldn’t have scored 64 points. He was thinking back on this fight he had with “His Airness” at that time.
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