Shaquille O’Neal brings out his best when it is Dirk Nowitzki on the other side. We are not speaking about their on-court rivalry here. The two Hall of Famers sat together for The Big Podcast hosted by Shaq and Adam Lefkoe, to throw light into the early days of their career. In one of the segments, Shaq revealed an unearthed story about his first meet-up with Nowitzki’s wife, which cracked up the Dallas Mavericks legend, leaving him red in the cheek.

The two champions delved deep into the highlights of their career and also about the modern NBA in the newly released podcast episode. However, one of the highlights was Shaq revealing his first meet-up with Jessica Olsson, Nowitzki’s wife. Adam Lefkoe asked Shaq, “When you heard that Dirk’s wife was black, did that change your perspective on him?”

The Los Angeles Lakers legend recalled, “I found that out accidentally. I don’t know if Dirk knows this, but we all leave the same way. So one day there was this gorgeous person standing back there and I was like, ‘Oh‘. And it’s like, ‘That is Dirk’s wife‘, and I was like, ‘Oh, okay. My bad.” Shaq also went on to dotingly remark about Nowitzki’s love for his wife, “After that, I knew that he liked the chocolate. I knew he liked the chocolate bars.” Lefkoe and Nowitzki couldn’t hold back their laughter.

Olsson and Nowitzki have been happily married since 2012. The two tied the knot, a year after Nowitzki delivered his first and his last championship for the Mavericks. Their love tale is one-of-a-kind, and the 14x All-Star doesn’t take it for granted. 

Dirk Nowitzki is all about embracing his wife’s traditions

Nowitzki and Olsson do not share the same culture. The Mavericks star is a German, while Olsson comes from Kenya. Nowitzki was new to his wife’s culture, but he would never think twice about embracing it for her. 

Nowitzki shared a wholesome story from their wedding in 2012, “They took my wife away. They brought five or six girls out and they were all covered. So the first thing I had to do was find my wife.” Nowitzki might have thought basketball was easier to figure out at that point. Jokes apart, he found a smart way to find Olsson. 

He shared, “I’m walking around and looking at how tall they are…I was lucky. I smelled her to find the right one. But that was just an experience that I’ll never forget.“ It has been 12 years since the two married each other. There’s a long way to go, and Nowitzki is definitely looking forward to it. 

Stay tuned for more such updates, and to follow what Shaq’s ex-agent, Leonard Armato, has to say about the Reese-Clark rivalry and more, watch this video.