The Brooklyn Nets are heading into the 2025-26 NBA season hoping to put the kind of performance on the hardwood that the franchise and fanbase can be proud of in various ways. Brooklyn has had some great players come through the franchise since its inception and one of those players took a trip down memory lane to recount a fun moment in his career.

“I’ll never forget this game because we were all talking so much trash and Shaq being at home, he’s like, ‘Hey, man. I’m gonna get 40.’ You won’t get 40 with me in here,” former Nets forward Derrick Coleman said during an episode of “Nets Rewind.” Coleman was recounting the time that he dunked on NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal in a matchup between the then-New Jersey Nets and the Orlando Magic during O’Neal’s rookie year.

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“The high pick-and-roll, they hedged so much, I really was wide open for the jump shot,” Coleman continued. “But Derrick being Derrick, I’ma drive it to the basket and I knew I couldn’t lay it up on him. First, I thought he was going to knock me into the stands. But, when I dunked and just by us talking so much trash to each other during the game, that’s why I gave him the finger, you know? Like, nah, not tonight, big fella.”

Coleman got to have the moment in route to his desired result as the Nets beat the Magic in that game 116-97 while Coleman dropped 34 points, 15 rebounds, three assists, two steals and four blocks in 32 minutes. O’Neal didn’t exactly come away from that contest empty-handed as he put up 18 points, 11 rebounds, and eight blocks as well despite being a rookie.

Coleman and the Nets went on to finish the 1992-93 season with a 43-39 record, earning them the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs and a first-round matchup against Brad Daugherty and the Cleveland Cavaliers. New Jersey went on to lose to the Cavaliers in that playoff series 3-2, but Coleman was able to get one of the best moments of his career earlier that season.

This article originally appeared on Nets Wire: Former Nets F Derrick Coleman revisits dunking on Shaquille O’Neal