Before Shaquille O'Neal established himself as the most dominant player in history during his stint with the Los Angeles Lakers, he was a young and hungry All-Star center on the Orlando Magic .
O'Neal's impact on the Magic was immediate. He guided the franchise to its first playoff appearance in his second year. In Shaq's third year, the 1994-95 season, Shaquille and Penny Hardaway led Orlando to the 1995 NBA Finals.
The Magic faced Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls in the second round, as MJ had just returned from retirement and played 17 regular-season games. Nevertheless, Orlando was still considered a formidable playoff team with plenty of experience.
Beating Michael and the Bulls
However, when it became clear that Chicago couldn't stop the young Orlando squad, eyes turned to Shaq and Penny as the NBA's next faces. They ousted the Bulls in six games to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals.
Shaquille and the Magic's major milestone seems to have been buried in the history books. According to the 'Diesel', no one remembers that he and Orlando dominantly beat Michael and the Bulls. However, Shaq has taken advantage of their ignorance.
"When we beat Jordan and the Bulls in the second round," Shaquille said per GQ . "Nobody in the Eastern Conference accomplished that in the '90s. I win money all the time now, especially with the young guys, when I ask them who was the last team to beat the Bulls. They forget."
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Penny agrees
Hardaway is aware that they may have competed against MJ, who wasn't at his best. But to completely disregard the achievement is to disrespect Penny and Shaq's talents. The point guard believes they have the bragging rights as the only team to eliminate the Bulls in the 90s.
"We obviously caught Michael at a great time (with him) just coming back from baseball," Hardaway said on ESPN's The Jump in 2020 via Commercial Appeal . "But at the end of the day, we do have those bragging rights as the last team … during that span to have beaten that team — that great team."
After ousting the Bulls, Orlando faced the mighty Indiana Pacers. It was an epic series that went to seven games. Ultimately, they prevailed and booked their ticket to the 1995 NBA Finals. Unfortunately, Hakeem Olajuwon and the Houston Rockets were too good for them. Despite this, we cannot downplay how good the 1995 Magic were.
Related: "He had no explosion, he had no lift" - Penny Hardaway recalls identifying the Magic's advantage on Jordan in the 1995 playoffs
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