“What you mean season ain't started?”: Shaquille O'Neal once admitted he didn't know NBA had preseason games till a teammate tipped him off

Shaquille O'Neal was indeed a force the moment he stepped foot on the NBA floor. In his rookie year with the Orlando Magic, 'The Big Diesel' shared how he was excited to get the regular season started.

The NBA would have their teams play pre-season games to get them warmed up to start the regular season. In his excitement to go up against the best basketball players in the world, Shaq treated pre-season games like they already counted.

The rookie Shaq then realized that he was not playing in the regular season and was called out by veteran point guard Scott Skiles for the way he treated the pre-season matchups.

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"Funny for me is, I didn't know the difference between pre-season and the regular season. When I got to the Magic, I was playing all out pre-season and Scott Skiles said 'Hey man, calm down. The season ain't started yet.'," tells Shaq in a table talk with NBA Open Court.

"What do you mean the season ain't started yet, we are 3-0. We first in the conference," said Shaq to Skiles.

The former LSU Tiger went on to average 23.4 points, 13.9 rebounds and 3.5 blocks in his first season in the league and grabbed NBA Rookie of the Year honors.

Watch: Shaquille O'Neal on Open Court's Tallest Tales of the NBA

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Shaquille O'Neal didn't want to be hazed by Scott Skiles in his rookie year

Every rookie coming to the NBA will get some sort of hazing by his teammates, and these stories are a bit hilarious. But when Shaquille O'Neal entered the league, he made it a point that he didn't want to be hazed, especially by Scott Skiles.

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"I didn't get hazed. Shoutout to Scott Skiles, he's like, 'Carry my bags, rook.' I'm like, 'I'm not a rookie, I'm the franchise.' ... These guys said, 'Hey, man. Just carry the bags because we just played.' I'll play the game with you, but I ain't carrying," said O'Neal on the Drink Champs podcast.

"I'm not no bad character, because my thing is, make me carry your bags. You whip my a**, I'll carry your bags. I'm the big guy with the big guy mentality. I know you could probably fight, but in my mind, I'm not gonna let no little guy make me."

When Shaquille O'Neal was a rookie, Scott Skiles was the team's starting point guard. He averaged 15.4 points, 9.4 assists and 1.1 steals during the 1992-93 season, but the Orlando Magic fell short of making the playoffs.

Watch: Shaquille O'Neal's full interview in Drink Champs

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