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‘Didn’t Want to See Them Win Again’ – Venus and Serena Williams’ Mother Oracene Price’s Absurd Wish for Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant’s Lakers Team in 2003

Published 10/19/2022, 6:30 AM EDT

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American tennis sister duo Venus and Serena Williams have a near perfect story. They came from a difficult background, fought many battles, and made it to the biggest stage in professional tennis. Along with their hard work, there’s an important role their family played in their careers. While there’s a lot of emphasis on Richard Williams’ role, people often neglect the importance Oracene Price had in their upbringing.

While as a mother, Price did her all to support her champion daughters, and always loved it when the underdogs won. Back in 2003, she spoke about the same but not on tennis.

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Oracene Price once wanted the Los Angeles Lakers to lose

Back in 2003, the Los Angeles Lakers had a very strong team. They had star players like Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant and were eying their fourth straight championship win. However, Price admitted that she wanted them to lose this time. Here’s the reason behind it. “They had already won three straight championships and I didn’t want to see them win again,” she said.

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Her wishes came true when the Lakers failed to win a historic fourth straight championship in 2004, losing to the Detroit Pistons in the finals. While her reaction was very natural as any other fan, she certainly won’t do it in tennis. After all, it was her daughters Serena and Venus who dominated the game back then. Price surely would not want any undergone to win against them.

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Serena Williams follows her mom in parenting her daughter Olympia

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Oracene Price did it all for her daughters, and Venus and Serena Williams paid it back with their world-class careers. Now it is time for Serena to do the same as a mother. She has a five-year-old daughter, Olympia Ohanian. Surprisingly, the five-year-old has not picked up a racket like her mom. Instead, she enjoys playing soccer.

via Getty

Just like her mom, Serena Williams is doing it all to support her daughter’s dream. Recently she retired from tennis to spend more time with Olympia. Further, she took Olympia to her first soccer practice session. The five-year-old was nervous about going alone and Serena joined her.

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WATCH THIS STORY – Chris Evert looks back at her astounding rivalry with Martina Navratilova and the negative impact of her 13-match losing streak

Later, Serena also acted as an assistant coach, as there was a need for volunteers. The 41-year-old shared her experience of leading a soccer practice on her Instagram. Which sport do you think Olympia will choose to specialize in?

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Written by:

Gaurav Verma

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Gaurav Verma is a Tennis Author at EssentiallySports. He has post graduate diploma in management from IILM Graduate School of Management and a BBA degree from Bangalore University. He has 1-year of experience in the banking sector.
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Edited by:

Tony Thomas