Basketball Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal met Yekaterina Lisina, the world’s tallest model, on Thursday. The 7-foot-1 LA Lakers legend posed with the Russian former basketball star, who is listed at 6-foot-8 by Basketball Reference.
O’Neal broke the ice by kissing Lisina on the cheek. The model, who has long wanted to meet the four-time NBA champion, said she was nervous.
Before becoming a full-time model, Lisina spent her professional basketball career in Russia. She had stints with CSKA Moscow, Good Angels Kosice, WBC Spartak Moscow Region and Dynamo Kursk.
Lisina was also a feature of Russia’s national team. She won gold in the 2007 European Championships, silver in the 2006 World Championships and a bronze in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Fans React to Shaquille O’Neal’s Meeting With Yekaterina Lisina
The meeting between Shaquille O’Neal and Yekaterina Lisina quickly went viral. The post on X gained 3.1 million views in roughly four hours, prompting fans to react to the viral scene. One fan wrote:
“Why is Big Shaq so happy??”
Another fan added:
“How tall would their babies be?”
One more fan continued:
“For the first time in history, Lisina might be the short one in the photo.”
Another fan reacted:
“You won’t understand the excitement on both parts. Finally meeting someone as tall as you after constantly being around vertically challenged people is absolutely refreshing.”
One fan tweeted:
“Could of been a WNBA superstar but instead become a model. Insane.”
Lisina has long wanted to link up with O’Neal. Last year, she posted a TikTok video in which she approached a 7-foot-1 Shaq figure. Noticing the slight difference in height, the model began measuring herself.
Over the past few months on Instagram, Lisina has noted that she’s now closer to 6-foot-10 than her originally listed height of 6-foot-8.
After finally meeting Shaquille O’Neal, she also got a kiss for her trouble.
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