After Loss to New York Knicks, Victor Wembanyama Can Take MSG Inspiration From Shaquille O'Neal
Ever the critics, those gathered at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday night had additions for the Victor Wembanyama scouting report.
As their New York Knicks built an impenetrable lead over Wembanyama's San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday night, the MSG faithful regaled the rookie phenom with chants of "overrated" as he took free throws during the second half. Wembanyama's final box score in a 126-105 defeat saw him earn 14 points and nine rebounds, though most of his scoring output came after the Knicks (4-4) built the unbeatable double-figure advantage.
Growing pains were obviously expected for Wembanyama, the touted top pick of the most recent NBA Draft, and the Spurs. San Antonio, after all, earned the right to Wembanyama with a brutal 22-win season that came in handy come last year's draft lottery. The loss to the Knicks is undoubtedly his most brutal effort to date as a pro, one that came shortly after he created a minor stir for his review of MSG prior to tip-off.
"It's not as big as I expected but still the vibe is here," Wembanyama said (h/t KENS 5). "I've heard from so many people that this is the best basketball gym in the world. I'm eager to find out. I'm definitely expecting some good team and individual performances here."
Perhaps only the most easily-offended Knicks fan desperate to be angry at something would've taken offense to Wembanyama's comments but they no doubt reveled in his struggle, especially considering it created New York's first winning streak of the second.
Wembanyama perhaps needs little, if any, inspiration for the path forward. But if he's looking for a cure to the MSG blue, he can turn to the metropolitan plight of another big man taken with the top pick, Shaquille O'Neal. Ironically enough, O'Neal's eighth NBA game also served as his professional debut at MSG ... and it went equally awry.
O'Neal seen during his rookie season in Orlando
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Knicks Were O'Neal's Kryptonite
Though unburdened by the relentless stalk of social media, O'Neal made his first visit to MSG, a November 1992 showdown with the Knicks, a touted affair. The Orlando Magic's top pick traversed around New York City clad in a leather jacket bearing the famous Superman emblem the night before tip-off and the game was touted as a battle between the future and present: the LSU alum was poised to do battle with Knicks interior protector Patrick Ewing, who had received the top pick honor seven years prior.
Though O'Neal, who also partook in a cover story interview for Sports Illustrated during his New York visit, maintained a carefree attitude upon touching down in Manhattan, he later admitted he was downright "terrified" before he made his first steps onto MSG hardwood.
"I was terrified because I said to myself that Patrick Ewing is a 10. I'm about a 4, so I don't want to get super embarrassed," O'Neal told SI's Jack McCallum in 2017. "I'm about to face Ewing. I'm just sitting there faking it until I make it. I'm thinking that I'm in New York and I don't want to wake up in the morning and see ih the New York Times, Ewing 50, Shaq 10, or read 'Ewing holds Shaq to single digits."
Things were far from that brutal, but O'Neal struggled nonetheless: he scored 18 points and pulled in 17 rebounds but shot 7-of-17 from the field and lost seven of Orlando's 18 turnovers. He managed to outpace Ewing numerically (15 points, 9 rebounds) but a 26-point outing off the bench for Charles Smith led the way in a 92-77 victory for the Knicks.
Wembanyama (1) is guarded by Isaiah Hartenstein in Wednesday's loss
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O'Neal's First Garden Party was A Turning Point
The postgame aftermath proved emotional and may have changed the course of NBA history: O'Neal recalled that he met up with his stepfather, Army Sgt. Phillip Arthur Harrison, shortly after the defeat and the two talked about the supposed "pressure" he faced in his NBA career. Harrison put things in perspective when the two encountered a homeless family as they were driving.
"He said, ‘You spoiled m****f****r, this is pressure!" O'Neal recalled in a 2022 appearance on "The Pivot" podcast. "Pressure is when you don’t know where your next meal (is) coming from. I don't ever want to hear you say you can't handle the pressure again. It's f***ng basketball. Get out!'"
At Harrison's persuasion, O'Neal got out of the car and provided some money for a meal and boarding. Speaking on his own podcast in 2022, O'Neal said he never felt any semblance of pressure again.
"After that, I stopped complaining,” he continued. "He said, ‘Push through it. Man up. I don’t ever want to hear you say that again.’ ... So I had to get out, got the family an apartment, got them on their feet, made a few phone calls, the guy, you know, had a job, just got them on their feet. But that stuck with me.”
The rest of the NBA suffered for it: O'Neal guided the Magic to the NBA Finals just two seasons later and he would eventually earn four NBA championships and the 2000 MVP Award with the Los Angeles Lakers. Enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2016, O'Neal is widely regarded as one of the greatest interior threats in NBA history.
Wembanyama perhaps doesn't need a wake-up call that's equally verbally harsh. It's perhaps comforting, especially for a 19-year-old, to know that he's far from the first to struggle in his sneakers and that'll undoubtedly help him on the long, winding road of presumed NBA stardom.
Barring an extremely unlikely rematch between the Knicks and Spurs (3-5) in the 2024 NBA Finals, Wembanyama will not return to MSG this season. The Knicks visit San Antonio in late March to wrap up the yearly pair between the interconference rivals.
