Shaquille O’Neal and Hakeem Olajuwon are two of the best players in the history of the NBA. Both Hakeem and Shaq are considered elite big men who revolutionized the league. During the absence of Michael Jordan, Shaq and Hakeem actually faced off against each other in the NBA Finals. But while the competition on the court was fierce, off the court, the duo were strolling around on a tandem bike in New York.
In 1995, Taco Bell released an ad campaign with Shaquille O’Neal and Hakeem Olajuwon as the centerpieces. As part of the commercial, O’Neal and Olajuwon had to do a bunch of mundane activities together, almost like a couple or even best friends. In the ad, the tacos helped Shaq and Olajuwon negotiate world peace, take a boat ride together, and end the commercial by riding a tandem bike through Central Park.
Flashback: Hakeem Olajuwon & Shaq ride a bike in New York City's Central Park in summer of 1995 for Taco Bell ad pic.twitter.com/Y5n3vNNi6S
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) September 12, 2016
The timing of the commercial was interesting, as it was launched shortly after Hakeem Olajuwon and the Houston Rockets had swept Shaquille O’Neal and the Orlando Magic in the NBA Finals. It was the second consecutive NBA championship for Olajuwon and the Rockets, and the first appearance in the NBA Finals for Shaq. While Shaq was unsuccessful in that outing, he would find more success in the 2000s.
Shaq has spoken about the loss in the NBA Finals from early in his career and noted that he may have cost himself the championship. In O’Neal’s mind, he showed Hakeem too much respect and was too nice to him, and because of that, he didn’t compete at the level he needed to in order to defeat the Dream and win his first NBA championship. But Shaq clearly admired Hakeem, noting that he did respect him a lot.
