Shaquille O'Neal has always marched to the sound of his own drum, and practice with the Los Angeles Lakers was no exception. The 7-foot-1 center would even show up to practice completely naked, according to a profile piece by Mark Medina of the Orange County Register.

The Diesel has become legendary for his constant pranks in the locker room, but his nude antics were completely unexpected by all involved, giving perhaps some of the best stories to tell when asked about his stint as a Laker.

“I’m just scarred by the one where he ran out into the middle of the court naked before practice,” said former Lakers forward Rick Fox, who played with O’Neal from 1997 to 2004. “I can’t get that image out of my mind.”

Neither could other former teammates, who recalled O’Neal frequently coming to practice wearing nothing but his birthday suit instead of his usual practice uniform for quite a head-scratching reason.

“We had a rule you can’t be late to the center huddle,” said Lakers head coach Luke Walton, who was O’Neal's teammate as a rookie in 2003-04. “He got here where he didn’t have time to get his clothes on. So he made sure he was on time in the center circle.”

The big man's unapologetic nature had turned from a one-time oddity to a more usual sight in the Lakers' practice facility.

“Shaq walked onto the court, put his hands up and said ‘I’m ready to practice,’ said Lakers assistant coach Mark Madsen, who played with him from 2000 to 2003. “He had not one inch of clothing on. So he was there in all of his glory.”

The hilarity in this deed quickly turned into awkwardness.

“He would start running around looking for guys to hug. Everybody was trying to get out of the way,” said former Lakers guard Derek Fisher, who played with O’Neal from 1996 to 2004. “That’s why when I hit that shot in San Antonio in 2004, that’s why we were so good at sprinting off of the court.”

O'Neal is set to have a statue of honor just outside of Staples Center, the place he called home for eight of his 19 years in the league. Some could argue his hilarious and often unusual antics are legendary enough to warrant the honor.