Shaquille O’Neal was known for his antics during his playing days — and still is now, honestly — but Phil Jackson told a story about Shaq that might top them all.
The former coach and his ex-center sat with ESPN’s Hannah Storm on Monday during an American Express event to talk about the great Los Angeles Lakers teams of the 2000s. But the Q&A also had some fun moments, including the story Jackson told when Storm asked him about O’Neal’s wacky personality.
“Well, you know, numbers of times, he could crack a team up with humorous effects on the floor,” Jackson said, per For The Win’s Charles Curtis. “There were times when he shocked us all in a practice situation, especially when he showed up nude with just his shoes on.”
But, amazingly, that’s not the only nude Shaq story on the record. As Curtis pointed out, former Phoenix Suns coach Alan Gentry had a similar account from Sports Illustrated in 2014.
“The coach said ‘every few days or every week or so’ the big man would come barreling around a locker room corner completely nude and tackle a teammate or coaching staff member to the ground where he would roll around with them in what he called ‘Brazilian naked wrestling,’ ” the article said.
This makes you wonder if these shenanigans ever went down at TD Garden when Shaq was with the Boston Celtics.
Thumbnail photo via Jayne Kamin-Oncea/USA TODAY Sports Images
