Michael Jordan earned his legendary status for his efforts during the 1990s. He led the Chicago Bulls to six NBA Finals appearances in the decade and helped them win all six.
As a matter of fact, during his entire career with the Bulls, MJ never missed the playoffs. The only time that he missed was when he returned to play in the 2000s for the Washington Wizards.
Evidently, defeating Jordan in the playoffs was considered a huge triumph in the 1990s. Only two teams could claim this honor in the 90s. The Detroit Pistons defeated MJ’s Bulls in a Game 7 during the 1990 Eastern Conference Finals, and the Orlando Magic, in the 1995 Semifinals, became the last team to do so in that decade. The Magic were led by their young superstar, Shaquille O’Neal.
At the time, MJ just came back after retiring from the league during the prime of his career. Regardless, it was a great achievement by Shaq, something that he apparently feels proud about to this date.
Shaquille O’Neal Feels Proud Of Being The Last Player To Defeat Michael Jordan In The Postseason
In a recent podcast appearance, Shaq talked about various things. He revealed that, according to him, Michael Jordan is the best player to ever play in the NBA.
But before that revelation, Shaq also pointed out that he is honored to be the last player to outplay MJ in the playoffs.
“I take pride in being the last guy to beat Michael Jordan in playoff situation. Everybody’s gonna say, ‘Oh he came back from baseball.’ But my thing is if you step on that court and I know he has the same mentality, if you’re on that court, that means you’re ready to go. Michael would say the same thing that I said. Because I know Michael. I actually learned from Michael. And the next year, they came back and demolished us. Make sure we didn’t win a game. I’m sure he was a little rusty when he came back.”
Shaq pointed out the fact that due to MJ’s competitive mentality, he wouldn’t have made an excuse for the Magic defeating the Bulls in six games in the 1995 NBA playoffs.
Instead, MJ and co. came back stronger than ever next season and destroyed Shaq and the Magic. Additionally, Jordan went on to complete the second three-peat of his career after that. It just goes to prove how amazing Mike’s mentality was during his playing days.
