It's not every day a group of American basketball icons take a moment to acknowledge and show support for Canadian teams.
Shaquille O'Neal, on the other hand, is no ordinary icon.
The hall of famer known as "Big Diesel" and his Inside the NBA crew gave a special shout out to the UBC Thunderbirds this week, wishing them luck at the national championships, which start Thursday, March 13.
The Vancouver post-secondary school is hosting the U Sports men's and women's basketball finals for the top level of Canadian university athletics.
Despite earning automatic berths as tournament hosts, both teams managed to reach the Canada West conference finals to fully earn a spot at the championships.
Shaq caught wind of the news and took to social media to show love for the blue and gold (see video below).
"UBC Thunderbirds, I heard you guys are going to the championship," he said in a video shared by the UBC men's basketball Instagram account Monday.
"I just wanted to say congratulations and good luck."
Shaq then turns the camera around to his colleagues that include sports broadcasting legend Ernie Johnson, NBA alum Kenny "The Jet" Smith and fellow basketball hall of famer Charles Barkley.
"Good luck, Thunderbirds! What's the word?" Barkley yelled from across the table.
Shaq and Barkley then exchange apparent, attempted bird squawks in response to the UBC's nickname.
Both Thunderbirds teams settled for silver; the men lost to Calgary 109-96 and the women to Saskatchewan 71-59 in their respective gold-medal games.
UBC is looking to win its first men's national title since 1972, and women's banner since 2008.
The 2025 U Sports Final 8 national championships run March 13 to 16 on the Vancouver campus.
The lady T-Birds will take on Saint Mary's (Halifax, N.S.) on Thursday at 6 p.m. at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre, followed by the men at 8 p.m. in the same building against UPEI.
For more information, you can visit the UBC Athletics' website.
