“Chinese… For when I see Yao Ming,” Shaquille O’Neal had admitted learning a word in his native language for the 8-time All-Star. The Big Diesel had made a comment against Ming that hadn’t sat well across the league and Shaq was tasked by his father with amending things. “Toy-inchee,” he learnt to say – the word for sorry in Chinese. The 4x champion had learnt his lesson. Maybe this time, he wanted to take the approach for something good, erasing the not-so-exciting memories associated with the last time he learnt another language.

Speaking on First Things First, O’Neal revealed that he once went so far as to learn Hakeem Olajuwon’s native language to trash talk to him. At the time, 23-year-old O’Neal was up against 32-year-old Olajuwon, who was already a 9-time NBA All-Star. Yet, O’Neal went ahead with his plan and it backfired completely. 

Recalling the experience, he described feeling like a toddler next to Olajuwon, who dominated the Finals and left him both angry and humbled. “I learned his (Olajuwon) native language and I’m trying to intimidate him and I said something to him in his native language and he’s like ‘okay brother,’ I was like ‘huh?’ He didn’t even get mad.” O’Neal recalled. The instance really got to the Big Diesel, translating into rage back at his home. 

He added, “He made me look like a toddler out there. So I can remember after us getting sweaty, me going to my beautiful house breaking TVs, breaking windows, and breaking cars and just being in a funk all summer and then really want to come back and you know prove myself.”

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The Magic, a 57-win team, had high hopes entering the Finals, especially after eliminating Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls in the Conference Semifinals in six games. Boasting a shooting percentage of 50.1% and strong three-point stats, Magic defeated the Bulls. However, O’Neal later admitted they may have celebrated too soon.

The defeat to Hakeem Olajuwon influenced Shaquille O’Neal

Despite their confidence and strong season, the Magic were swept by the Rockets. It proved to be be a valuable learning experience for Shaquille O’Neal. 

The two NBA legends have faced off multiple times on the court. This was also the tenth year for The Dream who had won the NBA title the previous year after defeating the New York Knicks in 1994. The outcome of the Finals wasn’t entirely surprising. Shooting 48.3% from the field, Olajuwon led the Houston Rockets to a dominant 4-game sweep over the Orlando Magic. He averaged 32.8 points and 11.5 rebounds. 

Countering him was O’Neal, who shot 59.5% from the field and averaged 28.0 points and 12.5 rebounds. Although the 4x NBA champion may have lost the game, there was something far more important that he took away from the matchup. It was a relentless desire to win. 

“Just him being one of the best ever. I realized that in order to be the best, you have to beat the best. That year we faced off, and the best won out. It just made me a much stronger competitor,” the Los Angeles Lakers legend O’Neal shared. In an interview, Shaquille O’Neal recalled how Olajuwon was the first player to truly embarrass him. His skills and talent were a constant surprise to O’Neal. This one ultimately shaped his legendary career.