Shaquille O’Neal and Michael Jordan (Getty Images)
There is no doubt that Michael Jeffrey Jordan is one of the greatest players to ever step foot on the hardwood. A true superstar athlete and six-time NBA champion, Jordan’s competitive urgency and dedication to basketball earned him the respect of players and fans alike, with many considering him the most passionate player of all time.
Jordan is remembered for his perfect 6-0 record in the NBA Finals, but he also endured multiple failures to get there. During his illustrious career, Jordan played in 37 playoff series and won 30 of them. However, in this seven-game series loss, many consider it one of the biggest upsets in playoff history.
Orlando Magic hand Jordan-led Bulls humiliating loss
Jordan had just finished his professional baseball career and came back in the middle of the 1994-95 season. This helped the Bulls move into the top five in the Eastern Conference. While Jordan left the NBA, Shaquille O’Neal, a young big man from Louisiana, became a force to be reckoned with.
In just three seasons, the Magic have become one of the top teams in the East, behind only the dynamic duo of Shaq and Penny Hardaway. The Magic ended their 1994-95 season with a 57-win record and atop the Eastern Conference after going 50-32 the previous season. When the two teams finally met in the conference semifinals, the result was something no one expected.
Despite the Bulls’ strong performances in Games 2 and 4, the Magic prevailed and eliminated the Bulls in six games to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals. This was the first and only time that prime Michael Jordan and the Bulls were eliminated from the playoffs. The Magic also became the first team to eliminate Jordan from the playoffs since the 1990 Detroit Pistons.
The Magic then won the Eastern Conference championship, but were swept 4-0 by the Rockets in the Finals.
Jordan takes revenge
The loss to the Magic raised questions about the toughness of this 11-win team. But if there’s one thing we know about the NBA in the ’90s, it’s that Jordan always had the last laugh. After losing to the Magic, the Chicago Bulls went on a revenge tour during the 1995-96 season, winning 72 of 82 regular season games.
After easily defeating the Heat and Knicks in the first two rounds of the 1996 playoffs, the Bulls met the Magic again in the conference finals. This time, the Bulls went out of their way to beat the Magic and sweep a seemingly unstoppable team in four games. Jordan led the Bulls to a 4-2 victory over the Seattle SuperSonics in the Finals, beginning their second three-peat.
In the 1996 playoffs, Jordan averaged 30.7 points, 4.9 rebounds and 4.1 assists in 18 games and won his fourth NBA championship and the Finals MVP award.