Big Diesel arrived in New York, shot a few hoops, cooked a local legend, promoted one his gazillion products – all done? Nah! No Shaq trip is complete without a kind act by the big guy. Shaquille O’Neal has a habit to do a good deed wherever he goes – dropping a massive four-figure tip on a server, giving out free shoes to kids, putting a store’s purchases on his tab, lending a hand to firefighters, or even taking pictures with strangers. Unlike Shaq-a-Claus and Shaq to School events, most of this stuff just happens. Like this latest one.

O’Neal is going viral for his latest good deed. Details are obscure currently but from the clip circulating it appears it happened during his New York visit.

An elderly lady apparently had a medical episode when O’Neal was around. The big guy called an ambulance and stayed with her till the first responders arrived, took her in, and drove away.

The clip that’s circulating the Internet shows Shaq assist the medics taking the lady into the ambulance. He exchanged a few words with the first responders and apparently pat their backs – a very Shaq gesture for all the respect he has for frontline workers and law enforcement.

No details on the patient but fans are optimistic she’d be okay after Shaq’s help. The only aftermath that’s obvious is how viral this clip is. Even though Shaq’s kindness is common, he always adds feel-good fluff to the Internet with his kind acts.

It’s worth noting that he’ll get very mad at the suggestion he does it for the cameras. He once went viral for giving a homeless lady some food and trolls called it fake. O’Neal has very sternly shut down those accusations in the past.

This kindness though was not spared for another New Yorker during this visit.

Shaquille O’Neal meant business in NYC

The last two times Shaquille O’Neal visited New York – and he’s around a lot while filming Gravesend season 3 – was very wholesome. During one visit, he stepped into a boutique to use their restroom and bought a young teen her quincineara dress. The last time he was around at the NYC Hoops Academy in Brooklyn with his son, Shareef to give hundreds of kids free sneakers.

Right now, O’Neal was in Empire State for business. He’s upgraded his partnership with Hershey’s and his history with Reebok to launch a new version of Shaq-a-Licious gummies shaped in his super-sized Shaq Attaq sneakers. While promoting the new candy line, O’Neal (who almost came to the Knicks once upon a time) wanted to prove he’s the MDE OG in NYC.

For that, he took on the local hoops legend, George “The Messiah” Papoutsis. Yes, the icon who’s been toasting hoopers a quarter his age. 53-year-old O’Neal with a shiny new hip came out of retirement for a one-on-one showdown against The Messiah at Pier 36.

This was no joke like the free throw showdowns on TNT which Shaq almost always fails. This was easy and deadly – first basket wins, that’s all. George had first possession and nearly got one over the 7’1″ giant only for it to miss. The next play was class Big Diesel, backing his puny opponent in the paint and unleashed one his go-to moves, a turn and a sharp baby hook.

The ball went in, the crowd cheered, and O’Neal gave The Messiah a stare-down he probably learnt from Kobe. Sometime after (or before, the timeline is vague) he helped out the lady proving that whether it’s on the court or being kind, Shaq’s the same.