THIRTY-ONE YEARS SEPARATED two Game 7 postgame huddles, each just after the buzzer of epic conference finals. In both, a generational big man and former No.
1 pick was filled with emotion after surviving a seven-game series, having just led a group of players with no playoff experience together into the Finals in just his third season. More than three decades ago, it was Shaquille O'Neal with his massive arms pulling Dennis Scott, Anthony Avent and, surprisingly, mascot Stuff the Magic Dragon in, celebrating the Orlando Magic 's victory over the Indiana Pacers in a grueling 1995 Eastern Conference finals.
Just last week, Victor Wembanyama wrapped his long arms around Stephon Castle , Carter Bryant and Keldon Johnson as he led the San Antonio Spurs over two-time MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the reigning champion Oklahoma City Thunder . The one difference: The Spurs' celebration in OKC was in front of stunned silence.
Back inside the long-since-razed O-rena in 1995, Magic fans basked in the sounds of Jock Jams as streamers flew. Each player was an imposing figure whom the NBA had never seen before.
Each had lifted their youthful teams to the precipice of NBA glory. Because of that, Wembanyama and O'Neal are linked at this juncture of their careers despite their 30-year removal from each other.
"He's Shaq," one veteran NBA head coach said of Wembanyama. "He eats clean, worries about how his water is filtered and doesn't break backboards like Shaq did, but he presents the same problem.
None of us know what the hell we're going to do to stop him." The 1995 Finals were the beginning of the Shaq era in the NBA. What it ultimately became was not the linear domination that some had feared or predicted -- partially due to O'Neal changing teams, health issues and the rise of Tim Duncan.
Still, the 7-foot-2, 300-pound big man went to six Finals from 1995 to 2006 and won four titles. And like with O'Neal in 1995, these Finals might indeed be ushering in another era, again led by another imposing figure, this time a 7-foot-4 center-guard with an unprecedented arsenal of skills.
How deep it goes and how long it might last is still anyone's guess. THE MAGIC WERE smashed in the 1995 Finals by the defending champion Houston Rockets , with in-his-prime Hakeem Olajuwon outplaying O'Neal.
The sixth-seeded Rockets were the underdogs but pulled off a string of upsets. After sweeping Orlando, Hall of Fame coach Rudy Tomjanovich famously declared: "Don't ever underestimate the heart of a champion!" Years later, O'Neal admitted some blame for the showing, saying that he and his young teammates were guilty of celebrating and partying too aggressively in the days leading up to the Finals.
He said he learned from it and never made that mistake again. "I feel like I'm immune to the distractions like partying, alcohol, drugs," Wembanyama said in an interview with the Ringer in 2024.
"Why would I ever do that?" Wembanyama avoids alcohol and only consumes plant-based sports drinks. Earlier this season, he knocked a sports drink that contains sugar off a table in front of him before an interview, declaring, "Oh, hell no." "Of course people are going to compare him to Shaq, but he's actually Shaq 2.0," a rival general manager said.
"Because he takes care of his body and plays a modern game, shoots the 3 and can make free throws. Yeah, he's our nightmare." O'Neal averaged 29.3 points, 11.4 rebounds and 2.4 blocks and shot 58% in the 1994-95 season while playing 79 game