The legendary basketball player Shaquille O ‘Neal has always been a confident person, and he always equates his NBA achievements with those of other all-time great players. Recently, Shaq took Instagram and posted a story quoting “The Big Aristotle, setting another record that he shares with Michael Jordan and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. The record was established by the players who won MVP, NBA Championship, and Finals MVP in one season. Jordan achieved this feat four times, while Shaq and Kareem achieved it once.
Jordan missed the award only two times
MJ has won six NBA championships with the Chicago Bulls, and he has missed the award only twice. First in 1993, when he lost the MVP race to Charles Barkley, and a second time in 1997, when Karl Malone was voted the MVP by the media instead of MJ. Shaquille O’Neal won the award in 2000 with the Los Angeles Lakers. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar did it with the Milwaukee Bucks in 1971. The photo posted by Shaq shows how influential Michael Jordan was. Before winning a championship in Chicago, Jordan won numerous awards, including Defensive player of the year, Scoring Champion, All-Star Game MVP, Slam Dunk Contest winner, etc.
Shaq was only intimidated by MJ
Despite his towering Stature, Shaq was intimidated by the six-foot-tall MJ whenever he stepped into the game. In an interview with Logan Paul, Shaq revealed that he was the only person who had him terrified on the Court. O Neal admired MJ throughout high school, and when he came in front of him, doing the same things in real life, Shaq felt that it went so fast.
Shaq also claimed that his Orlando Magic Team in 1995 was the last team to beat Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls in a seven-game series. The Orlando Magic reached the 1995 NBA finals but lost to the Houston Rockets. At the same time, Jordan’s loss at the hands of Shaq and his team paved the way for his next three consecutive championship wins from 1996 to 1998.
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