Basketball

“Wang Zu, or Whatever Your Name is!”: When Shaquille O’Neal Got Downright Racist Just to Get Into Yao Ming’s Head

Tonoy Sengupta
|PublishedFeb 19, 2023

"Wang Zu, or Whatever Your Name is!": When Shaquille O'Neal Got Downright Racist Just to Get Into Yao Ming's Head

Dec 25, 2003; Los Angeles, CA, USA: Houston Rockets center Yao Ming (11) is defended by Los Angeles Lakers center Shaquille O’Neal (34) at the Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-USA TODAY Sports

Shaquille O’Neal may be one of the nicest people on the planet now, but the man can be a bully when the occasion calls for it. And when we’re talking about prime NBA Shaq, the moment almost always seemed to call for it. Especially when it pertained to someone he would play against.

Due to this trait of his, the man became an enemy to most big men around the NBA. And given his dominance, he always came out on top. There never was even a shadow of a doubt he would win… except on a single occasion.

A certain Chinese player named Yao Ming entered the NBA in 2002. And ahead of their first-ever match, Shaquille O’Neal had some racy things to say on the matter.

Also Read: “Michael Jordan Struggled With Women!?”: John Salley Reveals Why the Bulls Legend Couldn’t Do Anything He Wanted in the 90s

Shaquille O’Neal got racist in trying to get into Yao Ming’s head during his appearance on national television

Shaquille O’Neal has been known to be a bit of a comedian just about all his life. But of course, you can’t be purely comical when trying to challenge someone.

So, what did the Big Diesel do instead? Well, take a look at the YouTube clip below.

View on Website

Suffice it to say, his comments aged like milk kept out in the heat for too long, considering how less ignorant the world is today.

But beyond that, as it turned out, this matchup wasn’t about to be as much of a cinch as Shaq expected.

Actually, it turned out to be far from that.

How did a rookie Yao Ming do against Shaquille O’Neal?

Shaquille O’Neal was pretty confident that he could beat a rookie. Unfortunately for him, Yao Ming wasn’t just any rookie.

Take a look at the YouTube clip below to see how the Rockets man made Shaq respect him.

View on Website

At the end of the night, Ming had an impressive 10 points, 10 rebounds 3 assists, along with a whopping 6 blocks.

But of course, Shaquille O’Neal being Shaquille O’Neal, the man came out on top with 31 points, 13 rebounds, and 4 assists.

However, O’Neal was undeniably put on notice. And from that point on, he never messed with Yao Ming to the same degree again.

Also Read: Is Kevin Durant Playing the 2023 NBA All-Star Game? Injury Report for the Eastern Conference Starter

About the author

Tonoy Sengupta

Tonoy Sengupta is a Senior Editor at The SportsRush. Coming from an athletically inclined family, he has been surrounded by sports ever since he was 4 years old. But, while initially pouring all his time into Football (soccer), at 14, Tonoy discovered basketball through the countless highlights of Stephen Curry humiliating players from Curry Land. And just like that, a fiery passion for the game was ignited within Tonoy. And soon after, he decided to become a student of journalism, graduating in 2022, and choosing sports as his area of interest. Today, you can find him spending 99% of his time browsing through every type of content on every team in the NBA, before uncorking everything he has found to the world. In the 1% he isn't doing this, you can find him playing Basketball, Football, Volleyball, or practically any other sport he has had the opportunity to learn.