Shaquille O'Neal got his wish by running into Taylor Swift at the Super Bowl ... but he seemed a bit more infatuated with the pop superstar's plus-one on Sunday -- revealing he has a big ol' crush on Ice Spice!!
The four-time NBA champ told TMZ Sports last week he wanted a seat right next to Travis Kelce's girlfriend for the Big Game between the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers ... and while that didn't happen, he still got to rub elbows with her on at least two different occasions throughout the night -- even gifting her a Judith Leiber bag, which comes with a $4,500 price tag.
Shaq made sure to show his appreciation for his run-in with Swift -- who ended up sitting with the "Think U The S*** (Fart)" rapper, Kelce fam and Blake Lively instead -- going to Instagram to share the interactions with his followers ... as well as his a special shoutout to 24-year-old IS.
✨ A closer looked at the custom bejeweled “87” football purse Taylor is wearing at the Super Bowl by Judith Leiber! pic.twitter.com/5TVOB4Dh5z
— Taylor Swift & Harry Styles Updates (@haylorflorals) February 11, 2024
"and @icespice is so dam fine thanks @taylorswift," Shaq said on social media ... which undoubtedly sounds like shooting his shot.
His comment section was flooded with similar takeaways ... with one user joking, "Shaq shot his shot… but it was a free throw 😞"
Another added ... "The last thing I’d expect on my page is Shaq saying ice spice is fine."
Unclear what Ice thought of the gesture ... but gotta respect Shaq's courage to throw it all out there, even if it goes over like a "fart" in a windstorm.
We'll be talking all things Taylor on the new "TMZ Swift-Tea Podcast" -- available on all podcast platforms!