34 years ago today: Shaquille O’Neal’s NBA debut brings 18 rebounds, 8 turnovers and a win as Nick Anderson scores 42

Thirty-four years ago today, on November 6, 1992, the No. 1 pick in the draft played his first NBA game. Shaquille O’Neal, 20 years old and listed at 7-foot-1, started at center for the Orlando Magic against the Miami Heat and finished with 12 points, 18 rebounds and three blocked shots in a 110-100 win at Orlando Arena.

It was not a clean night. O’Neal also committed eight turnovers and fouled out with six personal fouls in 32 minutes. And the leading scorer was someone else: Nick Anderson poured in 42 points. But the 18 rebounds are still the most by a Magic player in an NBA debut, and within a week the league had named the rookie its Player of the Week.

12 points, 18 rebounds, eight turnovers

O’Neal was 20 years and 245 days old, five months removed from LSU. He made 4 of his 8 shots and 4 of his 7 free throws. Five of his rebounds came on the offensive glass and 13 on the defensive end. He added two assists and a steal.

The play he remembers most came in the first half. After a defensive rebound he brought the ball up the floor himself, nearly lost it near midcourt, gathered it and went the length of the court for a one-handed dunk. “I had to let the world know that I was here,” he said years later. “I couldn’t just do regular stuff. I had to do something different so people would know the name Shaquille O’Neal forever.”

He also said he spent the day of the game playing a video game with his 4-year-old nephew. “I wasn’t nervous,” he said. “I was just anxious to fulfill my lifelong dream of being an NBA player.”

29 YEARS AGO today, @SHAQ made his @NBA debut:

12 PTS
18 REB*
3 BLK

*18 REB is still the most by a Magic player in their NBA debut.

Shaq was different 🔥 pic.twitter.com/HXE6ppC6tB
— Orlando Magic (@OrlandoMagic) November 6, 2021

Nick Anderson’s 42 and a second-half comeback

Miami led 65-56 at halftime after scoring 34 points in the first quarter and 31 in the second. Orlando won the third quarter 25-16 and the fourth 29-19, outscoring the Heat by 19 after the break.

Final: Orlando Magic 110, Miami Heat 100, before 15,151 fans on Friday, November 6, 1992. Hank Armstrong, Hugh Evans and Ronnie Nunn officiated.
Magic: Anderson scored 42 on 17-of-26 shooting, with 3 of 6 from three, eight rebounds, six assists and five steals in 42 minutes. Dennis Scott added 27 and Scott Skiles 13 with six assists.
Heat: Willie Burton led Miami with 23 points, Glen Rice had 19, Kevin Edwards 17, Rony Seikaly 16 and Bimbo Coles 14. John Salley had seven assists.

Seikaly spent the night matched up with the rookie. “There is no doubt he is going to be a monster,” the Heat center said after the game. “He palms the ball like a grapefruit. He’s as big as Mark Eaton, and seven times as quick. And he’s only 20. Give me a break.”

Anderson, who had played in Orlando since the franchise’s first season, said he already knew what was coming. He had hosted O’Neal on a recruiting visit to the University of Illinois when O’Neal was still in high school. “It didn’t take any practices for me to know about Shaq because I already knew about what he was about and how good he was going to be,” he said.

Player of the Week in his second week

The next night in Washington he had 22 points and 15 rebounds in a 103-98 win. Then came the stretch that made the league notice:

November 10 vs. Charlotte: 35 points on 15-of-25 shooting and 13 rebounds in a 112-108 loss.
November 12 vs. Washington: 31 points and 21 rebounds in a 127-100 win.
November 14 at New Jersey: 29 points and 15 rebounds in a 124-113 loss.

The league named him Player of the Week for the week ending November 15. Michael Jordan won it the following week.

A 41-41 rookie season

O’Neal played 81 games as a rookie and averaged 23.4 points, 13.9 rebounds and 3.5 blocks while shooting 56.2 percent. Those rebounding and shot-blocking averages were the best of his career. He started the All-Star Game and won Rookie of the Year.

Orlando, coached by Matt Guokas, finished 41-41 and fourth in the Atlantic Division. Two seasons later O’Neal led the league in scoring and the Magic reached the Finals.

From Orlando to the rafters

O’Neal played four seasons in Orlando, 295 regular-season games, before leaving for the Lakers as a free agent in 1996. He went on to win four championships, three with Los Angeles and one with Miami, the team he beat in his first game. He was MVP in 2000, Finals MVP three times, and finished his 19-season career with 28,596 points. He entered the Hall of Fame in 2016.

On February 13, 2024, the Magic retired his No. 32, the first number the franchise had retired. At the ceremony he called Anderson, the man who scored 42 on the night he debuted, to the lectern and told him he should have been the first to get the honor.