“Happy 22nd brother big man love you” - Shaquille O'Neal shares adorable throwback picture to greet son Shareef O’Neal on his birthday
Former NBA and Los Angeles Lakers superstar Shaquille O'Neal took to Instagram to greet his son, Shareef O'Neal, on his birthday. The post was accompanied by a picture of Shareef as a toddler and Shaq carrying him.
Shaq, who has over 21 million followers on Instagram, took to social media to wish his son a happy birthday and wrote a caption which read:
"happy 22nd brother big man love you @shareefoneal."
Shareef O'Neal is a budding basketball player. He is attending Louisiana State University, just like Shaq did, in hopes of one day playing in the NBA like his father. Shareef is nearly 7-feet tall and has certainly acquired some genetic traits from his dad. He transferred from UCLA to LSU mid-season after undergoing heart surgery.
Shaquille O'Neal and his time with the Miami Heat
Not only is Shaquille O'Neal a Los Angeles Lakers legend, he is also a legend in Miami as he helped deliver the Heat organization their first ever NBA championship alongside the likes of Dwyane Wade and Pat Riley.
After having a falling out with the Lakers and Kobe Bryant in particular, the Miami Heat decided to trade for unarguably the most dominant player in the history of the league. Acquiring him ahead of the 2004-05 season, Shaq, at 32 years of age, was no longer the dominant force that he once was in his prime. But he was still a formidable player who can deliver success if surrounded by the right players.
Miami Heat Shaq🔥 https://t.co/N37kkU9Unb
In his second season with Miami, Shaquille O'Neal played second fiddle to Dwyane Wade and helped lead the Heat to their first ever championship despite being the underdogs against the Dallas Mavericks, led by Dirk Nowitzki. O'Neal averaged 20 points and nearly 10 rebounds per game that season and averaged nearly 19 points in the playoffs.
Shaq's best performance in that postseason came against the Chicago Bulls in Game 6 of the opening round. Diesel dropped 30 points and collected 20 rebounds while shooting the ball better than 54% from the field.
The following season onwards, the mileage of playing in the NBA seemed to finally catch up to Shaquille O'Neal. He suffered a devastating knee injury that required surgery which resulted in him missing 35 games. Upon his return to action following an injury to Wade, the hopes of the Heat franchise were placed on Shaq. He did his best and took the Miami-based franchise into the postseason, but they were unfortunately swept in the first round by the Bulls.
While age was clearly catching up to Shaq, his time with the Miami Heat is looked back upon with fond memories of winning his fourth and final championship.