Leave it to Shaquille O'Neal to make RuPaul popular again.
The Phoenix Suns centre had people scrambling to check their 1990s pop-culture references when he compared Toronto Raptors forward Chris Bosh to the drag queen who parlayed a flare for wigs and dance hall hits into a contract with MAC cosmetics a decade ago.
The man known as Big Diesel was responding to Bosh's comments after the Suns' 133-113 win over the Raptors on Feb. 27.
O'Neal, 7 foot 1 and 325 pounds, was dominant in that game, scoring 45 points on 20-of-25 shooting. So much so that Bosh suggested at least some of his success was because of a liberal interpretation of the three-in-the-key rule.
"He was just camping down in the lane," Bosh told reporters after the game which was O'Neal's biggest scoring night in six years. "I mean, if they're not calling three seconds - I thought it was a rule, but I guess not."
Initially, O'Neal was content to emphasize his advantage over all NBA big men.
"I'm the only player," O'Neal said, "who looks at each and every centre and says to myself, 'That's barbecued chicken down there.'"
But when he later learned of Bosh's comments, O'Neal upped the ante.
"I heard what Chris Bosh said, and that's strong words coming from the RuPaul of big men," O'Neal told the Arizona Republic on Sunday, the day after he scored 33 points in the Suns' 118-111 upset of the league-leading Los Angeles Lakers. "I'm going to do the same thing [in their next meeting, which will not occur until next season]I did before - make him quit. Make 'em quit and complain. It's what I do."
Yesterday, Bosh was travelling with the Raptors, who will be looking for their first win on their three-game trip tonight against the Houston Rockets.