Well, there goes the “Mozgov-Shaq” matchup I know everyone was dying to see.

Shaq was one of Timofey Mozgov’s heroes when Mozgov was growing up, and Mozgov enjoyed playing him the first time the two met.

“He’s huge, very huge, just unrealistically huge! Even more so in real life than on TV. I think he’s not calling himself an alien from another planet for nothing. I saw Shaq for the second time in my life. Not only that, I’ve played against him, played against Shaquille O’Neal twice in my career! You can tell my childhood dream came true. The only thing left now is to see Jordan))”

“You can’t even imagine how huge Shaq is, – Mozgov told Kirill Zangalis of Sovetskiy Sport. – I’m not sure that I could wrap my arms around him; he’s a real man-mountain. I’ve played against the Greek giant Sofoklis Schortsanitis, and it was impossible to move him. But now after meeting Shaq in person I understand why Schortsanitis goes by the nickname “Baby Shaq” in Europe. Compared to the original he looks like a dwarf.

“It’s funny that Shaquille puts four giant cushions on his seat, – Mozgov told Sport-Express. – Probably regular chairs are too hard for him. Some of our guys also put cushions on their seats, but no more than two. And there he has four! When me and Gallinari saw that, we burst out laughing”.