Shaquille O'Neal admits he pays $1,000 to get pedicures on his famously 'ugly, stinky feet' as NBA legend reveals he gets 'sparkles and designs'

Shaquille O'Neal has admitted to spending $1,000 per pedicure on his 'ugly, stinky' feet - with the former NBA star even decorating his weathered toes.

O'Neal, a basketball Hall of Famer, racked up 41,918 minutes across 19 seasons in the NBA.

And in his own words, O'Neal's feet 'stink,' leading the ex-Lakers star to try and improve them with some paint designs.

'I give about $1,000 because I know my feet stink, I know they're ugly, and I like to paint them,' he said on The Big Podcast with Shaq, via PEOPLE.

'I paint that s*** because it's ugly and I want it to look pretty,' he continued, adding that he likes having 'sparkles and designs' on his feet.

The official SportsCenter Instagram account then re-shared the clip from O'Neal's podcast and included a video of him showing off his blue-painted toes.

The 52-year-old, who stands at 7-foot-1, famously wears a size 22 shoe. 

O'Neal said that his toe-painting actually began when he was still an active NBA player, with the big man nearly missing a game because of a toenail that had torn off. 

His mother apparently helped him heal up for the game.

'I was like, I tore my toenail off, so [his mother] did something and then she put like, some red polish on the thing, and I had 40 that game. So I was like, you know what, I'm just going to start painting my toenails.'

Nail-painting has become more commonplace in sports recently, with recent Bears draftee Caleb Williams and NBA prospect Jared McCain (formerly of Duke) becoming known for painting their fingernails.

According to public records obtained by the New York Post, O'Neal has properties in Nevada, Texas, Georgia and Florida.

The 52-year-old played the bulk of his NBA career in Orlando, Los Angeles and Miami with the Magic, Heat and Lakers respectively.