It’s rare for Shaquille O’Neal to break his promises. But this time, it might be a bit difficult for the Big Aristotle to keep his word as a major issue of distance poses a threat! O’Neal, who was just recently spotted in Miami, has already given his word to make a rare appearance at a EuroLeague game. And doing so very publicly, O’Neal has clearly elevated the hype. Will he make it on time?

The 4x NBA champ just received an invitation to make an appearance at the EuroLeague, and he accepted it in the most graceful fashion. On the EuroLeague and Friends podcast, one of the hosts was asked which celebrity guest she would appreciate experiencing the Belgrade derby at least once, and she mentioned Shaq.

The video must have made its way to O’Neal, who has always shown massive respect for Serbian players and their intense game. He quickly took to the comments section of the EuroLeague’s Instagram post featuring the clip from the podcast. Putting on the hat of a new avatar, he agreed to be present. “Shaquille onealovic accepts and let me kno when and we’re and I’ll b there,” he wrote.

Even the official X page of EuroLeague urged O’Neal to attend the event. “Shaquille O’nealovic we’ll see you in 🇷🇸 soon @SHAQ,” he added. This is one of the fiercest matchups between Partizan and Crvena Zvezda in Round 24 of the EuroLeague. And the matchup today at Beogradska Arena saw Crvena Zvezda come out with victory. 

As per sources, O’Neal was in Miami for his DJ performance and seen by several other locals. However, given the warm invitation he received, will O’Neal keep his promise and visit Serbia for the tournament, especially the Eternal Derby, before it ends? He does seem a lot interested.

Shaquille O’Neal tries to speak in Serbian

He has always enjoyed Serbian player Nikola Jokić’s game. After watching the Joker’s 30-point performance in a matchup against the Los Angeles Clippers, O’Neal even tried to encourage the player by speaking in Serbian.

While interviewing Jokic on the NBA on TNT, the Los Angeles Lakers legend said, “Sjajna igra velika dušo” to the Serbian player. Now, this  translates to “Great game, Big Soul.” However, he was handed the wrong translation. 

What he had wanted to say was “Big Honey,” which is also Jokić’s nickname. After watching Jokic’s expression, he realized it. “Sorry about that. Hey, man. You gave me the wrong information (He called out the staff)… Thank you, brother. Great game,” he added. 

However, it’s the effort that counts. A few more words to learn, and the Los Angeles Lakers legend will be perfectly able to greet the crowd if he were to visit the EuroLeague.