?People Can Fly?: 7?1″ Shaquille O?Neal Got a Subtle Flex From Michael Jordan After Asking Him a Fanboy Question Before 1997

Michael Jordan had the NBA world going crazy over him. With his tongue sticking out, soaring through the air, Jordan left a lot of players on the poster. Which even had Los Angeles Lakers legend Shaquille O?Neal mesmerized. During a 1997 interview, Jordan made sure to give a little flex to the league?s new sensation.?

Jordan sat down with Playboy magazine for an interview. The reporter asked MJ a total of 20 questions regarding various topics. And one of them was on what Shaquille O?Neal had previously said about MJ.

Shaq knew not to bad mouth Michael Jordan

One of the things that Jordan was perhaps best known for was his hangtime. He literally stayed in the air even after the defenders were back on the floor. And he seemingly did that with absolute ease, gliding and draining buckets at will.?

So, when Shaquille O’Neal was asked about it, he reportedly told reporters that Jordan can really fly, giving props to ?His Airness.? And when the reporter later asked Jordan whether what the Big Aristotle said was true, he had this to say: “People can fly. Some fly higher than others, that?s all.”

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While the six-time NBA champion did not flex much, letting his plays on the floor do the talking for him, that did not mean that MJ was a stranger to shutting people up.?

It was always considered a very bad idea to trash-talk Michael Jordan. Many stories have been uncovered over the years where players have tried to trash-talk MJ, and it ended up severely backfiring on them, quite horribly most times.?

Even Magic Johnson gave props to Jordan

For Shaq to praise MJ as such should not come off as a surprise. One reason was that MJ had clearly earned the respect of everyone in and around the league, including the Los Angeles Lakers legend. It also might?ve been so that Jordan would not eventually humiliate him on the basketball court.

Michael Jordan had an insane vertical of 48 inches. Pair that up with his 0.92 seconds of hang time and one can see why he was called ?His Airness.? MJ certainly used his gifts to his advantage on the floor.?

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Even another Lakers legend, Magic Johnson, was in awe when talking about Jordan?s hang time. The Chicago Bulls legend pulled such a move against Johnson in the 1991 NBA Finals. Jordan’s switch-hand lay-up while still in the air went on to become one of his most iconic shots as well.?

What did you think of ‘His Airness’ and his hang time while on the court? Let us know in the comments below.