Many regard Michael Jordan as the greatest of all time. He won six NBA championships with the Bulls and was labeled as the most dominant player of his era. Another player who was very dominant on the court during his time was Shaquille O’Neal. Imagine the intensity of the game with both of them playing on different sides.

His Airness was at the Bulls when Shaq was drafted by the Magic in the NBA. MJ was at his peak when Shaq arrived in the NBA as a rookie. In fact, during Shaq’s rookie season, Jordan completed his first three-peat with the Bulls. Jordan was capable of taking control of any game he played and terrified opponents with his dominance.

Shaq’s dominance was unmatched as well, as he won the Rookie of the Year and was voted an All-Star starter in his rookie season. During an episode of ‘NBA on TNT’, Shaq has opened up on the game when he faced Jordan for the very first time in his career.

Shaquille O’Neal opens up on facing Michael Jordan for the first time

During a discussion on ‘NBA on TNT’, Shaq revealed that he was terrified to face Jordan. He also added that he got to face Jordan for the first time, after years of watching him on the television.

“Since the statute of limitations is up, I was terrified out there. The whole game,” Shaq said on ‘NBA on TNT‘. For one, he’s the greatest player. Two, I was worried about him dunking on me and having to go back and face the fellas. And then three, he was just so hot. Like, the stuff that I saw when I was in college on TV, it’s like really real. I was terrified.”

Shaq was unmatched during his NBA career and many players ramped up his nerves during his 19-year-old career. Jordan was among the very few who terrified him. Orlando Magic managed to beat the Bulls 128-124 in Shaq’s rookie season.

Shaq starred for the Magic with an incredible 29 points and 24 rebounds. However, that doesn’t mean Jordan was quiet vs the Magic during the 1993 matchup. Jordan scored a whopping 64 points as the Bulls lost by 4 points.

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