There is a reason why Shaquille O’Neal refers to himself as ‘Most Dominant Ever’! He never backed out of any challenge and had an unwavering presence against any opposition in any arena. But when it comes to Madison Square Garden, Shaq is not completely on board with the surrounding mystique. He did credit the team as his “favorite opponent,” but his motivation to play at MSG was his idol.

“It was different for me, cuz I was going up against my idol (Patrick Ewing).” During the TNT Tuesday show, Shaquille O’Neal emphasized why it was important to play his best against the Knicks icon. “I just wanted to show him that I could play. And you know, got to be a nice rivalry.” Shaq would face Ewing 26 times in his career and came on top in 15 of those encounters. The 4x NBA champion also averaged 28.7 points during that matchup.

“For me, it was all about karate movies growing up. At some point, the student must kill the master to become the master. So, every time I went to New York, I wanted to kill him.” Shaquille O’Neal has never shied away from expressing his love for Patrick Ewing. In fact, during his LSU days, he chose number 33 because of his love for the Knicks icon.

On an episode of The Big Podcast, Shaquille O’Neal even shared a heartfelt confession: “Pat, I know me and you had some tough battles, but you were always my favorite player. I don’t think you know this, but I wore number 33 in high school and college because of you.” Despite the admiration, it was not a pleasing first encounter with his idol.

Patrick Ewing and his ‘mean’ attitude against Shaquille O’Neal

Being a rookie and coming face to face with the person you admire could be a hard challenge. In order to calm his nerves, the Big Aristotle had the idea of greeting and introducing himself to Ewing. However, that backfired immediately. “So you know, idolizing him, and then going to New York for the first time, but it got cut off quick…”

Shaquille O’Neal narrated the incident further. “Because I was like, ‘Oh my God, hello Mr. Ewing, nice to put play you,’ and he just ‘Shut the f–k up, rookie. I’m about to bust you.’ So now all the sh–, I’m like, ‘Okay, now you trying to punk me in front of my fam.'” The Knicks icon had no ill intention, but being a competitor, he did want to make it easier for Shaq.

Even the Lakers legend understood the assignment. When he entered the league, all the limelight and stories were about the rookie and his domination at LSU. That’s why Shaquille O’Neal performed against the Knicks with a chip on his shoulder because of Ewing, and not necessarily because of the magic of the MSG!