Former NBA athlete Shaquille O'Neal wished a happy Sukkot to all Jews who are celebrating.
In a video that was posted to Twitter on Tuesday by Creative Community for Peace, the former basketball legend made a play on words with his name and the Sukkot tradition.
"My favorite Jewish holiday is coming up. You know why? Because we all go out and live in shacks," he joked.
Former @NBA Champion Shaquille O'Neal, known commonly as "Shaq" @shaqtin sends the Jewish community a message for the holiday of #Sukkot. pic.twitter.com/wjDa1oltzZ
— Creative Community for Peace (@CCFPeace) September 21, 2021
O'Neal played alongside American-Israeli athlete Amar'e Stoudemire on the Pheonix Suns between 2008 to 2009.
A few years later, Stoudemire played for the Hapoel Jerusalem and Maccabi Tel Aviv basketball teams and was the MVP at the Israeli Basketball Premier League in 2020.
Stoudemire also completed the process of converting to Judaism last year and had received full Israeli citizenship the year prior while playing professional basketball in the country.
Stoudemire identifies with the Hebrew Israelites, African-Americans who believe they are connected to the biblical Israelites, and observes Jewish holidays.
Josh Halickman and Marcy Oster/JTA contributed to this report.