Shaquille O'Neal predicts the next Yao Ming will emerge soon during Hong Kong visit

Shaquille O’Neal hit the streets of Hong Kong on Tuesday and the NBA great’s thoughts have immediately turned to the state of the game in China and the question – when will the world see the “next Yao Ming?”

Watch: Former NBA star Shaquille O'Neal talks about China basketball as he visits Hong Kong

“I think it's something we’re all waiting for,” O’Neal told South China Morning Post. “Basketball is now very much a global game. You talk about the top 20 players and they might be from all over. It used to be just an American game but now the world has caught up and I think that’s what has happened with China. China has got better but the whole world has got better at the game at the same time.

“But there will be another great player like Yao coming through soon. You go to camps in China and you see the talent. It’s just a matter of time. People forget sometimes, it’s a tough league to get in to.”

A four-time NBA champion through stints with the Los Angeles Lakers (2000-2002) and the Miami Heat (2006), the 7ft 1in O’Neal had some colossal tussles with Yao during that player's time with the Houston Rockets from 2002 to 2011 and he said the 7ft 6in Chinese star brought out the best in him.

“He was tall, he could shoot, he could just play,” said O’Neal. “He made me adjust my game. That tells you all you need to know about how good he was.”

The wave of Chinese players many predicted would follow in Yao’s rather large footsteps has not really materialised and the state of the game on the mainland continues to stagnate – the national team failed to qualify for the last world championship in Spain in 2014, finished fifth at the Fiba Asian Championships in Manila in 2013 and finished 12th at the London Olympics in 2012. This despite the oft-quoted claim that there are around 300 million people now playing ball across the country.

Still, the 43-year-old O’Neal, on his 25th trip to China, said he was always impressed by what he saw at training camps, so perhaps the world should just be patient.