Shaquille O’Neal was the terrifying physical force the NBA had never seen in decades. But even a player like him can lose his psychological edge with one simple, kind gesture. 

The year was 1995, and Michael Jordan had just returned from his stint in professional baseball. A youngster named Shaquille O’Neal was dominating the paint for the Orlando Magic. 

O’Neal was only in his third season and was averaging 29.3 points and 11.4 rebounds per game. He was 7'1" and weighed over 300 pounds. Jordan later admitted that he didn’t have a clear plan for how to handle the O’ Neal.

Jordan explained, “I didn’t really know how to play against him. Do I go right at him? Do I stop and pull up? Blah, blah, blah. So I went right at him, and he just knocked me straight to the floor, and then he reached down to pick me up.”

O’Neal saw a fellow player on the ground and reached out his hand to help him up. To Jordan, that hand reaching down was a signal of a mental weakness he could exploit.

MJ realized that while O’Neal didn't have the mindset yet. “I said, ‘Naw, he didn’t mean it, he’s a nice guy.’ If he would’ve left me, stepped over me, a la the old school, I would’ve been somewhat intimidated. But his heart is too good. He’s not that type of guy. It took away some of the intimidation factor.”

Even though the Magic beat the Bulls 4-2 in the 1995 playoffs, Jordan was no longer afraid. He knew O’Neal was "too nice" to stop him. By the 1996 season, Jordan was back to his peak form. 

He led the Bulls to a historic 72-10 record and averaged 30.4 points. When they met the Magic again in the 1996 Eastern Conference Finals, the Bulls swept them 4-0. 

In their total head-to-head matchups, Jordan’s teams went 12-9 against O’Neal’s teams. Jordan maintained a scoring average of 28.7 points in those games. O’Neal still put up great stats, with 25.2 points and 13.2 rebounds, but the fear was gone. 

O'Neal realized that being the "nice guy" on the court had a cost when facing a player like Jordan.

Shaquille O’ Neal Later Realized What Jordan Was Really Teaching Him

O’Neal never really looked at that moment as a loss of an edge at the time. But as he got older and won his own championships, he started to see that Jordan operated on a different frequency. 

Years later, he would describe that collision as a major turning point. It was the moment he understood why MJ was the best to ever do it. The big man spoke about the incident from his own point of view. He took great pride in his defense and his ability to protect the paint. 

“I take pride in never being dunked on. In 19 years, I can probably say I’ve probably only been dunked on three or four times… But his Airness Michael Jordan came baseline one time and tried to dunk on me, and it hurt my arm, but I had to flagrant foul him and lay him out.”

For Jordan to even try to dunk on him was a statement. It showed that Jordan was testing him. The foul was hard, and it was meant to send a message. 

When O’Neal tried to show respect, Jordan shut it down immediately. O’Neal remembered the rejection clearly, “When I went to shake his hand to pick him up, he said, ‘Don’t ever help nobody up,’ and he bounced back up. And I knew then why he was the best player in the game.”

O’Neal had all the physical tools to dominate, but Jordan had the mental edge. That small act of sportsmanship in 1995 gave Jordan the clarity he needed.

Do you think modern players are "too nice" to each other on the court today? 

Read more at Air Jordan Chronicles

Written by

Utsav Sinha

Edited by

Souvik Roy