The Orlando Magic had to go through a difficult stretch of seasons to find their footing following the inception of the team.

The first year for the Magic in the NBA saw them post an 18-64 record in 1989-90. That was followed by two more losing seasons in 1990-91 (31-51) and 1991-92 (21-61). Then, ahead of the 1992-93 campaign, the organization drafted Shaquille O’Neal, and it would take them to new heights for almost half a decade. O’Neal, a 7-foot-1 center out of Louisiana State University, would immediately impose his will for the Magic by averaging 23.4 points, 13.9 rebounds and 3.5 blocks across 81 games en route to becoming the Rookie of the Year and an All-Star. 

His impact helped Orlando break its streak of losing seasons and finish 41-41. Over the next three years, Shaq’s dominance helped the team go from not participating in the NBA Playoffs to playing in the NBA Finals. Now, nearly 34 years after O’Neal was selected No. 1 overall, San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama is having a similar impact for his team.

Wembanyama, 22, has led the Spurs to within two wins of knocking off the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference Finals and the chance to play for the Larry O’Brien Trophy for the first time since 2013-14. After a Game 1 performance with 41 points and 24 rebounds and a Game 4 performance with 33 points, eight rebounds, three blocks and two steals, Wembanyama, the 2025-26 Defensive Player of the Year, looks to be too much even for the juggernaut Thunder.

As O’Neal was ramping up toward his prime over three decades earlier, it was the same situation for even the NBA’s best teams. How do you stop him?

For Nick Friedell of The Athletic, the feeling is personal. In his recent article, Friedell talks about the gravity of O’Neal, from his booming sound systems that could be heard from blocks away as he approached the arena on game day, to pregame rituals and, most importantly, his performances. Friedell was there to witness it live as a child, and now, Wembanyama is evoking the same feeling within him.

"He was bigger, stronger and faster than almost every other big man from the moment he stepped into the league," Friedell said about O'Neal. "In a league full of giants, he stood out more than the rest. Thirty years later, I’m getting the same feeling watching Victor Wembanyama run up and down the floor in the Western Conference finals."

While the Spurs have a decorated history of dominant big men helping them become the apex predators of the basketball world, something Orlando could not boast in its franchise infancy before drafting O’Neal, what the two franchises do have in common were the low points they hit before taking O’Neal and Wembanyama.

Before drafting Wembanyama in 2023, San Antonio had missed the playoffs in four-straight seasons and had not posted a winning record. Like O’Neal, Wembanyama was named Rookie of the Year, but unlike the Magic experiencing a leap of success in Shaq’s first season, the Spurs under the rookie year of Wemby finished with a 22-60 record for the second year in a row.

The 2024-25 campaign saw Wembanyama’s season end prematurely due to deep vein thrombosis in his right shoulder, and San Antonio would finish with a losing record and miss the playoffs again. This season, however, is different.

Like the Magic with O’Neal, Wembanyama’s gravity and impact is making his team a force to be reckoned with.

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