Michael Jordan has revealed the one and only time he felt intimidated on the court.
Jordan was renowned for possessing a bulletproof mentality and a confidence that separated from the rest of the pack.
The six-time NBA champion regularly imposed himself throughout his decorated career.
But he has opened up about one particular instance where he did feel a little bit frightened and it was when he faced fellow great Shaquille O’Neal.
‘Shaq’, who stands at 7 foot 1 and is one of the greatest centers of all time, won four NBA titles in 19 years.
When Jordan returned from his spell playing baseball to head back to Chicago Bulls in 1995, Shaq was walking around at around 300lbs.
It was an unrivalled level of physical prowess and Jordan felt it.
“When I came back from baseball, I don’t know if I’ve ever told anyone this, I’m playing against Shaq,” Jordan said, speaking to The Ringer’s Jackie MacMullan on her Icons Club podcast.
“Shaq’s the biggest person I’ve ever seen play, in terms of physicality. He was this big, massive guy when I came back from baseball, so I was somewhat intimidated.”
There was one instance where Jordan was sent packing by Shaq, knocking him to the deck at quite the impact.
But he then, after being helped up, Jordan became aware that Shaq was a friendly giant and the fear factor was eliminated.
He added: “I didn’t really know how to play against him. Do I go right at him? Do I stop and pull up? Blah blah blah. So I went right at him and he just knocked me straight to the floor, and then he reached down to pick me up.
“I said, ‘Naw, he didn’t mean it, he’s a nice guy.’ If he’d’ve left and stepped over me, a la the old school, I would’ve been somewhat intimidated. But his heart is too good. He’s not that type of guy.”
The two legends played each other 21 times overall, with Jordan winning 12 and Shaq emerging victorious on nine occasions.