"He made it back to a straight pathway again" - Shaquille O’Neal’s son, Shareef O'Neal opens up on undergoing heart surgery at 18
Shareef O'Neal and Bronny James are both sons of NBA stars, but that is not the only thing they have in common. They've both experienced traumatic health events at a young age.
On Monday, news broke that Bronny James suffered cardiac arrest during a USC workout. After being rushed to a hospital, he is now in stable condition.
This situation draws comparisons to what Shareef O'Neal went through leading up to his first college season at UCLA (2018-2019). At the time, it came out that he was in need of open-heart surgery.
On the "Now for Later" podcast, O'Neal opened up about what the road was like after that procedure. In his own mind, he wanted to create a legacy where he overcome what happened and reached his full potential.
"I want that to be a part of my path," O'Neal said. Like, 'He went through this when he was young to kind of alter his path but he made it back to a straight pathway again,'"
"I feel like In 20 years I want to be known as that kid who fought back from something that was life-changing and made his dreams come true."
"I want that to be a part of my path. Like, 'He went through this when he was young to kind of alter his path but he made it back to a straight pathway again.'"
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O'Neal went on to play just 37 games in three college seasons and averaged 2.6 points and 3.0 rebounds.
Is Shareef O'Neal still fighting to make it to the NBA?
While things might not have panned out how Shareef O'Neal wanted, he is still working hard to make it to the NBA. His path might be different than his father's, Shaquille O'Neal, but that doesn't mean the end result can't still be the same.
After going undrafted, Shareef got to suit up for one of the same franchises as his dad. The LA Lakers decided to get a closer look at him by inviting him to play for their Summer League team. He played in six games for them and averaged 4.7 points and 3.7 rebounds.
Following his Summer League stretch, Shareef managed to land a lucrative contract in the G League. he spent this season playing for G League Ignite.
With G League Ignite, Shareef had the chance to grow his game while playing alongside a mix of top prospects and former NBA veterans. In 20, Shareef averaged 5.6 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.0 assists.