Shaquille O’Neal is one of the most dominant forces the NBA has seen. The big man manhandled his defenders down low as prime Shaquille O’Neal did and that’s something we’ll probably never see again in the association.
However, he’s not a superman and has fears like the rest of us. Shaq admitted on this segment of Inside the NBA that facing Michael Jordan for the first time terrified him. Moreover, he also said that Charles Barkley, David Robinson, and Patrick Ewing were players that scared him when he debuted.
Shaq never admits being scared of other players but this time we’re talking about the greatest player in the history of the game. This is Michael Jordan we’re talking about.
Back in the day, Shaq took the league by storm in his rookie season, turning the Orlando Magic into a force to be reckoned with. He made the All-Star team in his debut campaign while putting up nightly averages of 23.4 points, 13.9 rebounds, and 3.5 blocks.
After four seasons in Orlando, he moved to Los Angeles, where the Lakers helped Shaq to be a champion. He won three titles, taking the Finals MVP home in each championship. After that, he landed in Miami, where he won his fourth and last NBA title.
Shaq then played for three teams near the end of his career before finally hanging up his sneakers for good in 2011.
