NBA Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal has his way around celebrities. Shaq is known to be friends with Kevin Hart, Snoop Dogg, and more. And there are celebrities that love to attend game night now and then. Travis Scott is a huge fan of the Rockets. Jack Nicholson has been attending Lakers’ games since the Showtime era, and there are more.

Well, some players might even notice the stars sitting courtside, and sometimes they do not. With Shaq, he admitted that he has a crush on a famous Hollywood actress. But why was Shaq so nervous when he met her for the first time?

Shaquille O’Neal has a crush on Halle Berry

In a new episode of The Big Podcast with Shaq, O’Neal reveals the first time he met Halle Berry. Shaq is cool around celebrities, but this one time with Berry he got nervous.

“Like first time I saw Halle Berry, and my stuttering kicked in… Oh boy…” says Shaq. O’Neal was pretty fussy when he saw Berry for the first time as he explains. Not only did he get nervous in front of her, but he was once in the elevator with Berry.

“… and you know, every man has a Halle Berry crush. And she’s there by herself and she looks at me, she’s smiling so I’m like… (stutters)… Ding! you hear it …(stutters)… Ding! I can’t even talk and then she gets out… uh, Hey Halle.” 

READ MORE: Giant Shaquille O’Neal Admits His Real Height After Revealing He’s Not 7 Ft Tall

This is quite surprising, as no one would expect someone like Shaq to get so nervous in front of a celebrity. Though this time, she was not only a celebrity but happened to be Shaq’s celebrity crush. Shaq had a crush on Halle, while Halle herself had a crush on Kobe Bryant, Shaq’s teammate.

Shaquille O’Neal’s crush once checked out Kobe Bryant

In 2005, Halle Berry was in attendance at the Lakers and Mavs game. During free throws, Kobe was having a word with the referee, just the Halle started staring at him. This caught fans’ attention as Berry seemed to be impressed by Kobe.

During a short interview in the middle of the game, Berry was asked who her favorite player was. “Uhm… Kobe and Caron Butler.”

WATCH THIS STORY: 20 Year Old Shaquille O’Neal Spent $1 Million in a Single Day Only to Make His Mom and Dad Happy

This was indeed an interesting twist in this story. Halle seemed fascinated by Kobe whereas the Diesel was struggling to talk to her.