NBA icon Shaquille O’Neal will attend Zalgiris Kaunas’ EuroLeague residence opener in opposition to Olympiacos at Zalgirio Enviornment on September 29, the Lithuanian membership introduced Tuesday.
O’Neal, who can be an envoy for NordVPN, will likely be in Kaunas for the matchup between two of Europe’s most outstanding basketball golf equipment. The sport is scheduled to tip off at 8 p.m. Japanese European Time, or 5 p.m. GMT.
The go to will put one of many greatest names in NBA historical past inside Zalgirio Enviornment for a sport that includes a number of gamers with NBA expertise, together with Zalgiris center Jonas Valanciunas and Olympiacos ahead Evan Fournier.
Valanciunas, 34, is coming into his first season with Zalgiris after a prolonged NBA profession. The two.11-meter middle performed 839 regular-season NBA video games earlier than returning to Europe and now offers Zalgiris a longtime inside presence alongside Marek Blazevic and Kaodirichi Akobundu-Ehiogu.
Zalgiris have additionally added Carsen Edwards, Sterling Brown, Saben Lee and Marius Grigonis throughout an offseason that considerably reshaped the roster.
Olympiacos enter the season with a roster led by Sasha Vezenkov, Nikola Milutinov and Evan Fournier. The Greek membership additionally added Codi Miller-McIntyre, Jean Montero and Mbaye Ndiaye whereas dropping a number of key contributors from final season.
The matchup pits two groups that completed close to the highest of the EuroLeague standings in 2025-26. Olympiacos completed first at 26-12, whereas Zalgiris positioned fifth at 23-15.
Olympiacos went on to sweep Monaco 3-0 in the playoffs earlier than defeating Fenerbahce 79-61 within the Ultimate 4 semifinal. The Greek facet finally defeated Real Madrid 92-85 in the championship game.
Zalgiris reached the playoffs after ending fifth and confronted Fenerbahce within the opening spherical. Fenerbahce received the sequence 3-1, together with a 94-90 overtime victory in Game 4.
The upcoming assembly will subsequently characteristic two groups with latest Ultimate 4 expertise and considerably revamped rosters. Zalgiris will even have home-court benefit at Zalgirio Enviornment, the place they went 14-5 in the course of the 2025-26 EuroLeague common season.
O’Neal’s presence provides one other layer to an already high-profile opening-night matchup in Kaunas. The four-time NBA champion, three-time NBA Finals MVP and 1999-00 NBA MVP stays one in all basketball’s most recognizable figures greater than a decade after ending his enjoying profession.
