Beating Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls in the 1995 playoffs meant more to Horace Grant than just advancing to the next round. After helping the Bulls win three championships, Grant suddenly found himself celebrating his former team’s downfall.
He had spent years as a vital cog in the Bulls’ first three championships, but in that moment, he stood on the other side as the conqueror.
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During the celebration, Shaquille O’Neal insisted on hoisting Grant onto his massive shoulders like a prize trophy. That idea was either rooted in the outburst of happiness or a calculated jab at Grant’s former team and stunned Bulls fans.
“Shaq came over and he said, ‘We need to lift you up,'” Grant recalled on ESPN 30 for 30: This Magic Moment. “I’m like, ‘No.’ He looked at me seriously. ‘You better get up here.'”
Whatever O’Neal’s real reason was, the only thing certain was that the majority of the Bulls players did not take the gesture lightly. While Grant basked in triumph, his former teammates watched with simmering resentment.
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“Seeing him carried off, a lot of guys took that personal cause you know, for so many years, Horace was one of them,” former Bulls big man Bill Wennington said in the documentary.
Horace took it personally
By elevating a former Bulls player in their own house, the Orlando Magic turned a sports victory into a controversial public display of dominance. Grant may not have been the one who came up with the idea, but, admittedly, the raw emotion of the moment felt like a deep sense of vindication against his former team.
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Taking a quick trip down memory lane, Grant was demanding a higher salary that matched his value as an elite power forward during his free agent year in 1994. However, the Bulls couldn’t afford it, and Horace ultimately left for the Magic.
The unwanted split hurt Grant. In a candid admission, he also took that series personally.
“It wasn’t just the series,” Horace opened up. “That would be an outright lie. It was just truly, truly wanting to beat my old team.”
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The fact that the Bulls did not consider Grant a threat in that series just added insult to injury.
“Phil was verbally talking about, you know, ‘Horace isn’t going to be the difference,'” former Magic assistant coach Tom Sterner recalled. “Phil kept doubling Penny and he kept doubling Shaq and he left Horace wide open. And [Grant] basically said, ‘Beat us.'”
Horace was the missing piece
Phil Jackson really turned out to be wrong about his assessment. Grant wasn’t just a role player in that Magic team that upset them. He was Orlando’s reliable third star. In six games, Grant averaged 18 points and 11 rebounds. The Bulls simply didn’t have an answer to his offensive onslaught.
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That postseason, the Magic reached the Finals for the first time in franchise history as an expansion team. For Magic star point guard Penny Hardaway, Grant was the missing piece to the puzzle.
“Being swept in the first round my first year was tough, but we had a great year,” Hardaway told NBA.com in 2014. “Then, we sign Horace Grant that summer (of 1994) and I knew instantly, ‘Man, we’re going to The Finals.’ And we did because I knew we were just one player away.”
Orlando failed to win the championship in ’95. However, Grant regained his reputation as a championship player. In fact, Jackson recruited him when the Zen Master joined the Los Angeles Lakers in 2000.
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Unsurprisingly, Grant’s reunion with Shaq in LA resulted in another triumphant season. This time, they finally won an NBA title together.
This story was originally published by Basketball Network on May 14, 2026, where it first appeared in the Old School section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.