1. Shaq breaks the glass
For the longest time, Shaquille O’Neal’s official logo was his image hanging on the rim both feet off the ground. It was a symbol of his power and grace. Everything O’Neal was in his four years in Orlando.
The image that cemented O’Neal’s presence in the NBA was this game toward the end of his rookie year.
In a game against the New Jersey Nets, O’Neal brought down the backboard. And brought it down in a violent, surprising way.
"”It really came crashing down,” O’Neal told the Orlando Sentinel at the time. ”It hurt a little bit, but not that much. I have a hard head. It could have been serious, but it wasn’t.”"
He dribbled into the lane, rose up with two hands and just crushed the goal. It landed on top of him in what was surely a surprise to him. Even if O’Neal later claimed he meant to bring the goal down.
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This was not the first basket he broke that season — he did it in Phoenix too. But this one was truly transformative. It was raw power and aggression. The sure sign of Shaq and his power (and not in the playful way he broke a rim against Ahamad Rashad in a famous NBA Inside Stuff clip).
The NBA began requiring arenas have spare baskets just in case. They redesigned the basket to ensure they could withstand O’Neal’s power.
There is no dunk by a player in a Magic uniform that is more iconic or more well known than this display of pure power. It was so powerful, no one remembers Nick Anderson scored 50 points in the same game.
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