Losing in the 1995 NBA Finals is one of the only negatives in Shaquille O’Neal‘s illustrious career. But surprisingly, the Orlando Magic legend recently revealed that the reason his team lost against the Houston Rockets was because of him. Even though Shaquille O’Neal felt that he was at his best when playing for the Magic, he revealed that it was his lack of discipline that led to their failure.

Having already taken out Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls to get to the NBA finals, Shaq and his team failed to realize that Hakeem Olajuwon would pose just as big a threat.

Shaquille O’Neal owns up to lapse in concentration

Shaquille O’Neal on the Orlando Magic was skinnier and much more agile than he was in the later half of his career. But Shaq believes that that version of him is his best self, as he has all the tools and athleticism to go up against anyone in the NBA. But it didn’t work against Hakeem Olajuwon as a young Shaq failed to understand that there was more to winning a championship than just talent.

“We could’ve beat Houston, but that was all my fault…We were rolling and we beat the Bulls. Everybody was afraid of Mike. But I grew up watching karate movies. At some point, the student has to take out the master to become the master. And Mike if you were the man then I want that. We did it, we beat them and we had 10 days off. And that’s where the trouble started. Parties at my crib, parties at this guy’s crib,” said the 4x champion.

If Shaquille O’Neal had the same discipline that he had during his time with the Los Angeles Lakers, then according to him, the Magic would have beaten the Houston Rockets in the 1995 NBA finals as they had already taken out a bigger threat along the way.

Shaq was not the best center in the 1995 NBA Finals

Shaq was rising in the NBA rankings and cementing himself as the best center in the NBA. But Hakeem Olajuwon was not going to make it easy for him. In the 1995 NBA finals, the sports world was excited to see the match-up between two dominant yet extremely different centers in the finals.

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Although Shaquille O’Neal is known for his scoring and foul drawing, it was surprising to see that Hakeem Olajuwon outscored Shaq in all 4 games as the Rockets swept the Orlando Magic.

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It is not possible to know how things would have turned out if Shaq had stayed disciplined and trained properly instead of partying before the NBA finals. But what do you think would have happened? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!