“I know a lot of guys who played against him, and they wanted to go home… There were some guys that just didn’t want to play with him…” When Byron Scott shared this glimpse into the mindset of NBA players during Michael Jordan’s reign, it said everything you needed to know about the kind of fear MJ used to strike. And sure, it’s easy to imagine role players getting rattled, but even Shaquille O’Neal—arguably the most physically dominant force the league has ever seen—wasn’t immune to it. What no one could’ve predicted, though, is how that very fearsome aura would one day push Shaq’s son, Myles O’Neal, away from the game altogether.
Now, put yourself in this scenario for a second. You’re playing a game, and someone barrels toward you from near the free-throw line and pulls off a windmill dunk. What’s your reaction? Most would freeze, maybe even flinch. And if you’ve grown up hearing tales about MJ’s signature free-throw line slams, it’s only natural that your brain makes that connection. For Myles O’Neal, the moment felt all too real—and it changed everything.
“I’ll tell you when I stopped playing basketball… I was in a game… Like, the ninth grade… I was guarding the two, and there’s another guy on the other team, and he was very good… Saw him, like, take off, like, a little bit in front of the free throw line and windmill dunk it in the game. And I was like, ‘Oh, yeah, I’m done…’ I thought I was gonna go to the league until I saw that, and I was like, ‘Oh, I’m not going to the league,” Myles said on Cheat Codes.
Thankfully, the story didn’t end with a broken dream. Instead of chasing a career that no longer felt right, Myles turned to something that ran just as deep in the O’Neal household—music. Like his dad, the 27-year-old has carved out a solid path as a DJ, even racking up an impressive net worth of $5 million.
Shaquille ONeal perform as DJ Diesel in Croatia Myles O Neal, son of former American basketball player Shaquille O Neal, perform at the Diamond Club near Malinska on the island of Krk, Croatia, on July 14, 2022. GoranxKovacic/PIXSELL
So yes, the league may have lost a potential baller, but the stage gained an entertainer. And honestly, if a guy with Michael Jordan-like moves made Myles call it quits, no one can really blame him. After all, even a 7’1″ legend like Shaq had to respect the greatness of His Airness.
Shaquille O’Neal admitted being intimidated by Michael Jordan
There are only a handful of athletes in sports history who have managed to strike fear in the hearts of their peers, and Michael Jordan was definitely one of them. Don’t just take it from fans—take it from Big Diesel himself. During a recent episode of The Big Podcast, Shaq admitted what many players from the ’90s already knew but rarely said out loud: facing Jordan was terrifying.
The conversation came up as Shaq and Mario Chalmers dived into the ever-persistent debate about the greatest to ever play the game. And while today’s generation often leans toward LeBron James, Shaq drew a clear line, explaining that while LeBron might be respected, Jordan was feared. That’s a huge difference, and for someone as dominant as Shaq to say it? That hits different.
And it’s not the first time he’s opened up about this. During an appearance on the IMPAULSIVE podcast earlier, O’Neal got even more candid about what it was like facing his idol. “He is the only man that had me terrified on the court,” he recalled. “I went from high school, admiring him, to college, admiring him, and then he is right there in front of you, doing all the things you’ve seen on posters in real life. He came by me so fast sometimes, I was like, ‘Oh, s***’. Yeah, I was terrified.”
Well, considering this, it would only make sense for his son to call it quits when he saw someone with Michael Jordan-like talent and realized the difference in Skillset is huge. Could he have pushed more and tried his luck further? Maybe. But we can’t really complain after the fine DJ he has turned out to be.
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