From the time that NBA legend Shaquille O'Neal stepped onto the professional stage with the Orlando Magic in 1992, he immediately became the most dominant force that the game of basketball has ever seen — more than Patrick Ewing. Don Nelson recognized this.

In his rookie season, O'Neal averaged 23.4 points, 13.9 rebounds and 3.5 blocks per game. By his sophomore season, he was up to 29 points per contest, and the Magic had become legitimate contenders in the Eastern Conference. And in 1995, O'Neal helped to lead the Magic to their first ever NBA Finals appearance, where they were eventually dispatched by the Houston Rockets.

The New York Knicks, meanwhile, were in a transitional phase during this time. After years of getting bested by Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls, the Knicks finally made it to the NBA Finals in 1994 (after Jordan left the game to play baseball), but they would lose a heartbreaker to the Rockets. By the end of the 1994-95 season, legendary coach Pat Riley would leave to take over the head coaching job with the Miami Heat.

Don Nelson took over the team for the 1995-96 season, but he was fired after the team started the year 34-25. Nelson told Bryant Gumbel of “HBO Real Sports” that the reason he was fired stemmed from a suggestion to ownership that the team trade aging star center Patrick Ewing in exchange for O'Neal:

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O'Neal was set to be a free agent at the end of the 1995-96 season, while Ewing–who had been the face of the Knicks franchise since he was drafted with the No. 1 overall pick in 1985–would be entering his age-34 season.

Although Ewing was still one of the best centers in the league at the time, O'Neal would go on to be arguably the greatest center ever, signing with the Los Angeles Lakers and eventually becoming the centerpiece of a three-peat in the early 2000s.