Oilers gift O’Neal signed Hyman jersey, stick

Shaquille O’Neal now has a jersey to go with his new nickname.

The Basketball Hall of Fame center received a signed Zach Hyman jersey from the Edmonton Oilers during the “NBA on TNT” on Wednesday.

O’Neal was thrilled with the personalized gift from the Oilers forward and the hockey stick.

“To Shaq, Thanks for all the support!” Hyman wrote on the jersey.

“Zach, I love you brother,” O’Neal said as he held up the sweater.

Charles Barkley then asked if “NHL on TNT” analyst Paul Bissonnette could hook him up with a Leon Draisaitl jersey.

The present comes after the former NBA star was given the nickname “Shaq Hyman” by the “NHL on TNT” crew last week. O’Neal made a couple of appearances on the show trying his hand at hockey skills and sporting makeshift skates.

“That was cool, obviously I never thought Shaquille O’Neal would have my jersey and know who I am even, so that was pretty cool," Hyman said. "I remember watching [Shaq], my grandpa lived in California, and he was a big Lakers fan so he used to watch him a bunch so it was pretty cool.”

On Thursday, the Oilers shared a video of their equipment staff and Hyman crafting a 7-foot stick for the former basketball center. The crew had to use a goalie jersey for the sweater and hemmed the sleeves to fit O'Neal's arms.

“It was a big jersey, obviously he’s a big man so he needs an extra big jersey and the guys [equipment manager Jeff Lang, assistant equipment manager Brad Harrison] cut two of my sticks and put it together to make it extra long," Hyman said. "They did a lot of work on it and so it was fun to be able to get it to him.”

A week later, O'Neal returned the favor and sent Hyman a signed Los Angeles Lakers jersey.

There is nothing but respect between the two Hymans.

-NHL.com Staff Writer Derek Van Diest contributed to this report.