Hakeem Olajuwon, David Robinson, Dikembe Mutombo and Alonzo Mourning defined the ’90s era of big man basketball.

But for legendary center Shaquille O’Neal, one giant stood out as his all-time favorite player.

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Shaq first had to eclipse his idols before becoming a legendCredit: AFP
Patrick Ewing.

The former No. 1 overall pick was the face of the New York Knicks throughout the ’80s and ’90s and is one of the greatest players in franchise history.

The menacing 7-footer embodied the tough and gritty nature of New York City basketball and imposed his physicality inside the paint on both offense and defense on a nightly basis.

However, the 1992 Olympic Dream Team member never managed to win a title during his storied career – making him one of the best players in NBA history to never win a championship.

That didn’t matter to Shaq, though, who idolized Ewing growing up and even wore his No. 33 jersey at Louisiana State University (LSU) as a homage to his favorite player.

“When I was coming up, my father always said ‘Hey! I’m gonna make you like Bill Russell, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, and Wilt Chamberlain,'” O’Neal remembered.

“And as a youngster, I used to practise all these old school moves…old school moves…really old school moves. And then one day, I was watching Patrick Ewing at Georgetown, big guy, mean, physical, throwing people around, running up the court. And I said, ‘Dad, I wanna be like that’ and he said, ‘I know, that’s why I got you watching the game.’ So I’m watching Patrick Ewing, he wore number 33, so as I became better, I wanted to be like Patrick Ewing.”

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Ewing was one of the best centers of the ’90sCredit: Getty

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Shaq and Ewing went head to head after a tense first encounterCredit: Getty
But Shaq had lofty ambitions of his own – ones that involved him being the greatest big man in The Association.

In order to do that, O’Neal knew he had to pass up his idol and transform from the student into the master.

 

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‘The Big Aristotle’ was drafted first overall by the Orlando Magic in 1992 and it wasn’t long before he went head-to-head with his hero on the NBA hardwood.

“He was the first guy that when I played against him, I was actually intimidated,” he admitted.

Although their prime years didn’t clash, Shaq caught the back end of Ewing’s career, and their first encounter proved to be an unforgettable one for the Magic youngster.

In his 2011 book, ‘Shaq Uncut’, The Big Diesel recalled his first encounter with Ewing and how the Knicks center ‘punked’ him.

“I was a rookie with the Orlando Magic the first time I ever met Patrick,” O’Neal wrote.

 

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“We were playing at Madison Square Garden, and my plan was to shake his hand and say, ‘Hello, Mr. Ewing,” but before I got the chance he punked me. I went to shake his hand, and he wouldn’t. So I went to put my fist out and he hit me real hard on the knuckles. Then he said, ‘I’m gonna bust your ass, rookie.’”

Shaq later earned a starting spot in the 1993 All-Star Game, which he says annoyed Ewing and Pat Riley, who was Ewing’s Knicks coach at the time and happened to be in charge of the Eastern Conference All-Stars that season.

“Ewing was mad because everyone was talking like I was the Next Big Thing (which I was),” Shaq said.

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The pair had an intense but respectful relationshipCredit: Getty

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Kobe and Shaq won three straight NBA titles togetherCredit: AFP
“I led the All-Star Game in votes in my first year in the NBA, and after that Ewing told some guys no rookies should be allowed to start in the game. Pat Riley was the coach of the East that year, but he was Patrick’s coach with the Knicks, and he told everyone that it was ‘ridiculous’ that I was the starter. So when it got to the All-Star Game Riley started me because he had to, but he played me and Patrick the same amount of minutes.”

Fast forward to 2000 and Ewing was well past his prime while Shaq, now with the Lakers, was at the peak of his powers.

The Knicks were still a championship calibre team, though, and Ewing and O’Neal almost came to blows during a heated regular season game between LA and New York.

At one point during the game, a fight between Kobe Bryant and Chris Childs broke out. Child threw a punch at Bryant which sparked an all-out brawl on the court.

In his book, ‘Shaq Talks Back’, O’Neal said that when other Knicks players got involved, especially Ewing, he was ready to fight him in order to protect his teammates.

“Right after the altercation, I pushed Patrick Ewing. I wanted Ewing to come back. I was gonna mess Ewing up. I promise you I was,” he wrote.

“If he stepped up, I was gonna give Ewing a two-piece. I was gonna knock Ewing out, hit him with a bip-bip-bip. For real. Just to take the attention off Kobe’s getting hit.”

Shaq and Ewing got in each other’s faces but that’s about as far as it went.

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The pair almost came to blows in 2000 after a brawl broke out between the Knicks and LakersCredit: X@Ballislife

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Shaq wept as he spoke glowingly of Ewing in 2013Credit: X@NBATV
O’Neal would ultimately have the last laugh as his Lakers team won three straight NBA titles between 2000-2002.

Shaq was named Finals MVP in all three championship series, eclipsing anything Ewing ever achieved.

He also enjoyed a 15-11 record against Ewing during his pro career, averaging 28.7 points, 12 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 3.1 blocks per game against him.

Despite their differences, Shaq held a deep reverence for his childhood idol, even long after his own retirement.

In 2013, the four-time champion got emotional on NBA TV talking about how, although Ewing doesn’t always get mentioned when discussing the best players ever, he’s ‘one of the greats.’

“You alright? You look like you’re getting emotional,” host Jared Greenberg said to Shaq.

“I just saw Patrick Ewing, man,” O’Neal replied while fighting back tears.

“That’s real tears,” Dennis Scott pointed out as cameras zoomed in on Shaq’s face.

“A lot of people, when they talk about the greats, Patrick Ewing’s name never comes up, but I’m putting Patrick Ewing’s name in there as one of the greats,” Shaq went on.

“He was a great competitor, even though he never won a championship.

“I watch a lot of karate movies and in every karate movie the student always had to kill the teacher to become the best.”

Which is exactly what he did.