Many might argue that they were the last two pure centers who dominated the league during their careers. i dislike him when i am a huge rockets fan. The two only faced each other 13 times (plus five playoff games in a 2004 series) in their careers, so the rivalry never truly blossomed. You can see stats, NBA Championships, awards and more. Speaking just ahead of his induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame here, O’Neal recalled that his father told him, “You need to show Yao a little more respect.”. It was because O’Neal’s parents ran his fan club and came across some old missives in the fan club archive. It’s somewhat sad — foot injuries cut short Yao’s career, or else he still might be playing — that the two players are going into the Hall of Fame together on Friday, but maybe fitting, too. Yao is three inches taller than Shaq at 7-foot-4. I say Shaq and he says Yao Ming. Now, both Shaq and Ming are in the Basketball Hall of Fame. Sie können 'Einstellungen verwalten' auswählen, um weitere Informationen zu erhalten und Ihre Auswahl zu verwalten. “Christmas cards, birthday cards. It was an NBA final hyped event. Yao scored 20 points on 8-of-13 shots. Yao wasn't just tall, he was historically, exceptionally tall even by NBA standards. He played for the Shanghai Sharks of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) and the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Yao recognized Shaq’s place in the history of the game but wasn’t afraid to joke with him. Durch Klicken auf "Alle akzeptieren" stimmen Sie zu, dass Verizon Media und unsere Partner Informationen durch die Nutzung von Cookies und ähnlichen Technologien auf Ihrem Gerät speichern und/oder darauf zugreifen und Ihre personenbezogenen Daten verarbeiten, um personalisierte Werbung und Inhalte anzuzeigen, für die Messungen von Werbung und Inhalten, für Informationen zu Zielgruppen und zur Produktentwicklung. Lets say that also all 4 of them are in their primes and they had a 2 on 2 match who do you think would win? The trash talk — mostly from one side — got heated. Injury timeline, return date, latest updates on Lakers star, How long is Anthony Davis out? yao ming never passes the ball!!! He’d set up Yao as a rival to be attacked. O’Neal had done that with Chinese center Yao Ming, too, as Yao was being hailed as O’Neal's eventual replacement as the NBA’s top big man. It was not a regular-season game anymore. Well, if you're talking about Shaq right now, old age, injures and everything else, I'd take Yao easy. My father said, ‘The guy looked up to you.’ Most of the guys I was killing, I looked up to them. Our relationship changed after that.”. The other end of the spectrum is this image of recently retired Yao Ming and his wife. Free shipping for many products! (Getty Images), O’Neal recalled the time when Yao was in his third NBA season, and O’Neal had yet to really speak with him, thinking Yao — who did interviews through a translator even as he was learning English — could only speak Chinese. if shaq was yao ming's height but still as strong as himself. the rockets are “He showed me letters that Yao used to write me when he was a youngster in China,” O’Neal said. There was a time, after Yao entered the league in 2002, that battles between his Rockets and O’Neal’s Lakers were highly anticipated. He shouldn't even get a starting place on Shaq on Yao Ming - "If he didnt have those injuries, he probably would have been up there with the top 5 centers to ever play the game." Shaq, Yao, Iverson reminisce about each other (0:47) Shaquille O'Neal recalls the first time he faced Yao Ming, getting rejected three times. SPRINGFIELD, Mass. In 2016, Shaquille O’Neal and Yao Ming were inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame. Unlike Allen Iverson, Yao's image is so clean that it borders on boring. For the record, Yao was listed at 7'6" throughout his NBA career. We’ll keep bringing you throwbacks until the games come back. 3. but if you were wondering who was better team wise then shaq. If Shaq were your 10-year-old child, what would you do or say to him after making such comments? Klicken Sie hier, um weitere Informationen zu unseren Partnern zu erhalten. — Shaquille O’Neal had, in the early part of his career, made his reputation on his ability to dominate his opponent and, when possible, get into his head a little bit. In his day shaq was better, but he's not the same player any more. Allen Iverson remembers facing off against Shaq , saying, "If I can school over After their rocky initial meetings, Yao and O’Neal have become good friends. Shaquille O'Neal has a 10-8 winning … Weitere Informationen darüber, wie wir Ihre Daten nutzen, finden Sie in unserer Datenschutzerklärung und unserer Cookie-Richtlinie. He is a great man.”, Donovan Mitchell injury update: Jazz star leaves game vs. Pacers with right ankle sprain, Michael Jordan to present Kobe Bryant at Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, MJ to present Kobe at Naismith Hall of Fame, How long is Anthony Davis out? Yao Ming, at 7'6", dwarfs him in a photo posted to Shaq's Instagram. Both O’Neal and Yao are still honing their speeches for Friday night’s induction, but O’Neal said he figures they’ll have some time to socialize. Compare Shaquille O'Neal and Yao Ming careers through the years of your choosing. Yao Ming, at 7'6", dwarfs him in a photo posted to Shaq's Instagram. He argued back with his father. My argument is that shaq won 3 championships with the … But he is a great guy off the court, too, more than just a great player.”, (Getty Images) Shaquille O'Neal is 7'1" and perhaps the most physically imposing player the NBA has ever seen. he is doing a great job. Sie können Ihre Auswahl jederzeit ändern, indem Sie Ihre Datenschutzeinstellungen aufrufen. sport sports life Yao Ming makes Shaq look small in amazing photograph YOU can’t comprehend the enormous size of Yao Ming until you put him … Shaq was obviously tired of being written off as a force. But a few months before Yao entered the league, O’Neal said in a television interview, “Tell Yao Ming, ‘Ching-chong-yang-wah-ah-soh,” and was criticized for the racist overtones of that statement. At least, O’Neal said, until he got a call from his father. And he wholly may not be one. Yao ming is much better. By trying to skirt the blame off on another he's showing his true character. The 7-foot-6 center from Shanghai isn't flashy. "Yao says he's 7 feet 4 I think he's 7 foot 8," O'Neal wrote on Instagram. at the best online prices at eBay! Yao Ming vs. Shaquille O'Neal Comparison Head-to-head comparison between the NBA stars Shaquille O'Neal and Yao Ming that includes championships won, honors and awards obtained, regular season and playoffs stats and other Shaquille O’Neal and Ming’s fates immediately intertwined when the latter entered the NBA. They faced each other a total of 18 times in NBA games. O’Neal was puzzled. Now when we say better, we mean better career and better player overall. Yao Ming got schooled by Shaq down low: 26 points and 14 rebounds. The first meeting between Yao Ming and Shaquille O'Neal proved it was worth all the attention as the Houston Rockets beat the Los Angeles Lakers 108-104 in overtime Friday night. Why, he demanded to know, did he need to show Yao more respect? “When you come into the league at the time I did, as a big man, you have to respect him because he was the best in the league. O’Neal later apologized for the quote and their relationship evolved after his father told him about the letters he’d received. 528.5k Followers, 72 Following, 73 Posts - See Instagram photos and videos from Yao Ming (@yao) yao Verified Follow 73 posts 528k followers 72 following Yao Ming "A Texan and a Houston Rocket for life." He can shoot better than him, he can make free throws, and he is not as slow as shaq. Yao Ming (Chinese: 姚明; born September 12, 1980) is a Chinese basketball executive and former professional player. (NBA). Beijing, 10:30 in the morning, the whole country of China was watching Yao Ming versus Shaquille O’Neal. “I have been going to China for the last seven or eight years, and we always get together, hang out with the families. SPRINGFIELD, Mass. In a memorable 31-minute speech, Allen Iverson thanked everyone from "my idol, my hero" Michael Jordan to Tupac as he was enshrined in the Hall of Fame with Shaquille O'Neal and Yao Ming. Yao Ming = class act Shaq may not think of himself as racist. Shaq, Yao, Iverson reminisce about each other (0:47) Shaquille O'Neal recalls the first time he faced Yao Ming, getting rejected three times. LOS ANGELES -- The Lakers' Shaquille O'Nealsaid he was joking, not being a racist, when he used a mock Chinese accent while talking about Houston center Yao Ming. But he did make a racist statement. If you've seen the doc "Year of the Yao… Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for McFarlane Toys NBA Yao Ming Rockets & Shaquille O'neal Lakers Rookie 2 Pk. MORE: Hall class ranks high in greatness, higher in controversy, “I always respected him,” Yao said. Their shared time on the floor was appointment TV in the early 2000s. What if Yao Ming had said something about Shaq's ethnicity? The matchup to a heavyweight title fight, one bigger than media-driven controversy, in his first year, Yao Ming was a 7-foot-5 reality in the NBA. https://images.daznservices.com/di/library/sporting_news/c3/68/shaq-yao-090816-getty-embedjpg_su41p94kd4jk1eeq4x9u1a4ib.jpg?t=200127143&w=500&quality=80, Shaq vs. Yao, back in the day. Daten über Ihr Gerät und Ihre Internetverbindung, darunter Ihre IP-Adresse, Such- und Browsingaktivität bei Ihrer Nutzung der Websites und Apps von Verizon Media. Latest updates on Lakers star, NBA players react to Nets' LaMarcus Aldridge announcing retirement: 'Congratulations on an amazing career', Even Luka Doncic was surprised by his buzzer-beater vs. Grizzlies: 'Kind of lucky', https://images.daznservices.com/di/library/sporting_news/ee/a0/shaquille-oneal-and-yao-ming-090816-getty-ftrjpg_ipk3wez7lv7w179hkh909vsiq.jpg?t=196179783&w=500&quality=80, https://images.daznservices.com/di/library/sporting_news/c3/68/shaq-yao-090816-getty-embedjpg_su41p94kd4jk1eeq4x9u1a4ib.jpg?t=200127143&w=500&quality=80, Hall class ranks high in greatness, higher in controversy. Shaq vs. Yao lived up to the hype. “I always do,” O’Neal said. “He hit me with a nice move,” O’Neal said, “and I said, ‘Damn, that was a nice move.’ He said, ‘Thank you, brother.’ I was like, ‘You speak English?’ He said, ‘Yeah, Shaq, you just never talked to me.’”. — Shaquille O’Neal had, in the early part of his career, made his reputation on his ability to dominate his opponent and, when possible, get … Missing the NBA. Holy shit, Kevin Hart could suck Yao Ming's dick without even ducking. “Yao set me up,” Shaq said. Shaq and Yao are good friends now, but that was not true when Yao Ming … Above, we see Shaq with Yao Ming in Shanghai. But he said Yao looked up to me, so show him a little more respect. shaq has been a passing machine in phoenix. Yao Ming, however, always has a special place in Chinese fans' hearts.