Rong “Krystal” Niu, better known to basketball fans as Red Panda, has been a consistent fixture across NBA, WNBA, and college basketball since decades. The Chinese-American acrobat made her NBA debut back in 1993 and has performed in hundreds of halftime shows in addition to being a former America’s Got Talent and Britain’s Got Talent participant.
Red Panda was last seen performing during the halftime show of the 2025 WNBA Commissioner's Cup championship game, when she suffered a serious wrist injury after falling from her unicycle. Since then, she has undergone wrist surgery and is now confirmed to be returning for the upcoming season.
“We are sending out this note to thank everyone for their heartfelt wishes to Red Panda for a speedy recovery from her fall. It was a very serious injury and she did require surgery,” Niu’s agent Pat Figley revealed in a memo, per Marc Stein of the Stein Line.
The statement expressed gratitude for the support from fans and confirmed her excitement for the new season.
“She is recovering well and is practicing. She is looking forward to performing this season,” it said.
Niu had taken a fall from her seven-foot unicycle while performing her patented act which involves tossing bowls onto her head. The injury occurred on July 1 during the championship game between the Indiana Fever and the Minnesota Lynx and resulted in a fracture in her left wrist.
While no specific return date has been confirmed as of yet, she will perform in the upcoming campaign, with Figley revealing that “she is healing,” per ESPN. Niu reached the semifinals of season 18 of Britain’s Got Talent and was a quarterfinalist in season 8 of America’s Got Talent.
An American citizen since 1997, Red Panda performs at over 60 games per year and has over 30 years of experience. She made her NBA debut back during the 1993 Thanksgiving when the Los Angeles Clippers sent out an invitation after a last-minute cancellation from another act.
