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NBA legend Shaquille O'Neal praised Türkiye during an event in Cologne, Germany, where he played basketball before taking over the DJ booth under his stage name, DJ Diesel.
O'Neal joined the event at Bootshaus, a venue in Cologne's Deutz district, where organizers had set up a basketball court for participants. The former NBA star took shots on the court as attendees watched with interest.
Asked by Anadolu Agency about his visit to Türkiye, O'Neal said, "I love Türkiye very much. Türkiye was very beautiful."
His remarks referred to his Jan. 20 visit to Istanbul, where he met President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the Turkcell Basketball Development Center, a sports facility focused on young basketball players.
During that visit, O'Neal and Erdogan played basketball together, exchanged signed basketballs and posed for photos with young athletes.
After his appearance on the court in Cologne, O'Neal stepped into the DJ booth as DJ Diesel and performed for electronic music fans.
The former basketball player has appeared at Bootshaus every summer since 2023, combining his music career with public events in the German city.
O'Neal also visited Cologne last year, when he played basketball with young people at a public court in Deutzer Freiheit and later shared footage of those moments on social media.
O'Neal remains one of the most recognizable names in basketball. During his NBA career, he won four championships, three with the Los Angeles Lakers and one with the Miami Heat.
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