Alex Ovechkin got a pretty incredible gift on Saturday.
The NHL legend was sent a signed shoe from NBA Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal, who, like Ovi, is a crossover athlete and musician.
“‘Small’ gift from the legend @shaq Thank you,” wrote Nastya Ovechkina on Instagram. She added in Russian via a Google translation, “P.S. In the last photo—that’s Sasha’s foot (size 45) 😅.” A European size 45 generally converts to a US Men’s size 11.5 or 12.
Shaq signed the toe box area of the shoe and added an inscription on the side that reads, “Congrats to 900!” – a nod to Ovechkin’s milestone 900th career goal scored on November 5 against the St. Louis Blues .
Ovechkin, whose mother Tatyana was a two-time Olympic gold medal-winning basketball player, grew up a basketball fan and has said in past interviews that his favorite athlete is Michael Jordan. In January, Ovechkin did a jersey swap with the NBA’s all-time leading point scorer, LeBron James, and once wore no. 24 during warmups in honor of Kobe Bryant.
The 54-year-old O’Neal, who retired in 2011, currently serves as an analyst on ESPN’s ‘Inside the NBA’ and is a touring musician under the stage name DJ Diesel.
