Michael Jordan and the 90s Bulls were pretty much unstoppable. Throughout their reign, they bested some really good teams including the “Bad Boy” Pistons, star-studded Seattle Supersonics, the Patrick Ewing led New York Knicks, and Magic’s L.A. Lakers.
There was lost nothing they didn’t overcome by the time their run was over.
But even Magic Johnson agreed to this: that former Lakers superstar Shaquille O’Neal would have destroyed those Jordan-led Bulls teams.
Shaq: “‘I would’ve killed Luc Longley, Bill Wennington, [Bill] Cartwright,” he said. “The factor is me and my free-throw shooting.”
Magic’s response: “The Bulls had no great centers, what Shaq would have done to those guys it would have been unfair. Shaq was right it would have been unfair. The Lakers role players were better also.”
His presumed dominance is not an indictment on the Bulls. In fact, there was no team that Shaq wouldn’t have dominated against. In his prime, he was averaging 27 points, 11.8 rebounds, and 2.5 blocks per game.
Still, the 90s Bulls were not easy to push around. With Jordan, Pippen, and Rodman the team was being led by some serious rough riders. And while it is true that the Bulls have never seen anything like Shaq, it’s fair to say that Shaq had never seen anything like the 90s Bulls either.
Alas, we’ll never know how that matchup would have gone. It’ll just have to remain in our heads for the time being.
