459: 174: The Final Dance of Destiny (Requesting Monthly Votes!) 459: 174: The Final Dance of Destiny (Requesting Monthly Votes!) The Magic Team displayed a tremendously intimidating force in the first round of the playoffs.
In three games, the Bulls lost by a total of 92 points, averaging a loss of 30.6 points per game.
It’s no wonder Pippen cried after the third game; it was truly a brutal way to die.
Roger and O’Neal’s relationship still intrigued many; they hadn’t reconciled during the playoffs, yet they continued to win games.
They shattered people’s previous conceptions of a successful team.
Commonly, it’s believed that players in a successful team should be close as brothers, like a family.
But what about the Magic?
They were on the verge of grasping the crown of a dynasty, yet the two core members of the team weren’t even speaking to each other.
Throughout sports history, this was a very unique situation.
In fact, the Magic hadn’t completely fallen apart because Roger and Shaq still maintained a final understanding or a bottom line: no matter the disagreements off the court, no one should mess up on the court.
Would this balance be disrupted?
The answer is definitely yes.
When two people who dislike each other have to play on the same team, eventually, one of them is bound to flip the table.
Kobe and O’Neal were already at odds before their first championship; they played street basketball during the 1998 league lockout.
As opponents in that game, they trash-talked each other, and things spiraled out of control after Kobe leaned on Shaq to score and shouted, “Fuck you, you’re not a leader, you’re nothing, this is my Lakers.”
A conflict ensued afterwards, and finally, O’Neal slapped Kobe right there, making him pay for his own emotional intelligence for the first time.
However, this didn’t stop them from winning three championships, because they both knew where the bottom line was—messing up on the court was off-limits.
But in the years that followed, this balance couldn’t be maintained.
After the threepeat, Kobe and O’Neal were basically irreconcilable, turning their matches into solo plays.
Their feud had extended onto the basketball court, disrupting the team’s chemistry.
The reason was that they had been together for too long, and humans have limits to their patience—by then, both sides were completely intolerant of each other.
As for Roger and O’Neal, they were exactly in the middle of disliking each other but still able to stick to the bottom line.
Their tolerance for each other was still within a safe range.
This is why Roger and Shaq’s fighting power wasn’t greatly affected.
However, one topic has become increasingly heated concerning the future of the Magic Team.
In recent days, perhaps it’s Leonard Armato, Shaq’s agent, preparing for the summer of ’97, but multiple media outlets suddenly reported that O’Neal might opt out of his player option.
This is well-known within the Magic’s organization, but for the outside world, it is a bombshell.
Although it was known that there were issues between O’Neal and Roger, having issues and announcing an opt-out are two different matters.
Following last year, this will be the second consecutive summer that Shaq tests the free agency market, signalling to those desperate teams: a divorce is imminent, I am available.
The season isn’t even over yet, and O’Neal has already been caught up in various transfer rumors.
John Gabriel, during an interview, essentially semi-confirmed the news:
“The player option is in Shaq’s hands, he has the upper hand.
Of course, we’ll do everything we can to keep him; in fact, negotiations have been ongoing.
But as I said, the player option is in Shaq’s hands, no one can stop him from going wherever he wants.”
Meanwhile, before the Eastern Conference semifinals, Michael Cage, Sarunas Marciulionis, and Dominique Wilkins also announced in an interview that they would end their professional careers in Orlando after this season.
The three of them had consulted with Roger before announcing this to the media.
For Michael Cage and Dominique Wilkins, the strenuous season had taken its toll on their bodies.
For Michael Cage, being part of a dynasty was the highest honor, and he had no motivation to continue fighting.
For Dominique Wilkins, securing a championship ring was the perfect punctuation to his career; there was no need for a lackluster sequel.
Sarunas had a slightly different reason; though he was also 33 years old and still in good shape to continue playing, he preferred to assist Roger in reaching the top and then return to Lithuania to develop his homeland’s basketball scene.
“Just one strong player is not enough for us to beat the Dream Team at the Olympics; we need a team of strong players,” Sarunas told Roger.
Thus, on that evening’s “Magic Moment” show, he first introduced the concept of “The Last Dance.”
“If you are Shaquille O’Neal and the management layers you off during negotiations, and you’re also unable to seize the top spot in the team, would you continue your career in Orlando?
No, Shaq has won plenty of championships already, and he is still young; he definitely desires to prove himself elsewhere.
He wants to prove that without Roger, he too can win championships, and that Roger can’t win championships without him; this is definitely what he wants to do most after the threepeat.”
So, Orlando fans should not hold any unrealistic expectations.
The chance of Shaq leaving this summer is one hundred percent.”