WATCH: Luka Doncic and Shaquille O'Neal team up for hilarious Slovenian translation session
Luka Doncic went for a career-high 73 points against the Atlanta Hawks on Friday and now he is sitting home quizzing NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal’s Slovenian language knowledge. In a recent video that Shaq uploaded on Instagram, Shaq was tasked with translating what Doncic spoke in his native language.
O'Neal translated some of the statements that Doncic said in Slovenian. However, he faltered as the game went ahead. Luka was translating Shaq’s punchlines on NBA on TNT, and he had to guess it.
Shaq made the conversation even more funnier when he made guesses unrelated to what Doncic was saying. Here is the conversation between them.
Luka: “DJ Diesel”
Shaq: “DJ Diesel”
Luka: “Pa Google me, Chuck”
Shaq: “It sounds like Google me Chuck. Coz I speak his language so.”
Luka: “Cremo na shisho.”
Shaq: “I am going to the hookah bar.”
Luka: “Imam strip pratane.”
Shaq: “Yes mom I am still pretty”
The real was I have four rings
Shaq: “Ahh Dammit.”
Luka: “Sel sem na ribolov”
Shaq: “Show some respect.”
The real answer was ‘Gone fishin.’
O'Neal and Doncic have previously connected outside the NBA world. Last year, during the offseason, 'DJ Diesel' met the Mavericks star in Croatia when he was on a Europe tour.
Shaquille O’Neal picks Shai Gilgeous-Alexander over Luka Doncic
A few weeks ago, Shaquille O’Neal was given the option to choose from Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic and Oklahoma City Thunder's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. To the surprise of many, the NBA legend sided with Gilgeous-Alexander.
Shaq considers SGA a better player than Doncic since the OKC player gets his teammates involved more in the game.
“I’m gonna have to take [SGA]," O'Neal said on NBA on TNT. "Luka is a fabulous player, but this kid? He plays the right way [and] gets his teammates involved. … I’m taking him right now. He’s a hell of a player right now.”
O'Neal might be right here, but according to statistics, Doncic engages his teammates more than Gilgeous-Alexander.
Doncic has played 38 games this season for the Mavericks and averages 9.2 assists per game, while SGA has played 44 games this season and averages 6.4 apg.
If Shaq chose SGA over Luka, even if it is not a matter of preference, he is not entirely wrong. The Thunder star plays his game on both ends of the floor, averaging 2.3 spg, 0.8 bpg and 31.1 ppg. Doncic averages 34.6 ppg, 1.4 spg and 0.6 bpg.
Moreover, to Gilgeous-Alexander's credit, the OKC Thunder are at the top of the Western Conference this season. The OKC is the No.1 seed with a 32-13 record and Luka’s Mavericks are the eighth with a 25-20 record.