LeBron James drops 1-word reaction to Shaquille O'Neal's son Shaqir O'Neal's highlight dunk
LeBron James was impressed by Shaqir O'Neal's highlight dunk for the Florida A&M Rattlers in their 84-53 loss to the Maryland Terrapins on Monday.
Shaqir, the son of legendary NBA player Shaquille O'Neal, made a backdoor cut against Maryland before throwing it down with a two-handed slam.
In an Instagram story, James shared the highlight dunk and dropped a one-word reaction.
"Ayyyyyyyeeeeee," James wrote.
Shaqir is a junior for the Rattlers, although he spent the first two seasons of his collegiate career with the Texas Southern Tigers.
LeBron James and Shaquille O'Neal's children have a bond. Shareef and Shaqir O'Neal are friends with Bronny and Bryce James and hung out when they were living in Southern California.
LeBron also has a partnership with Florida A&M through his deal with Nike and his own brand. He helps sponsor the program's athletics department.
"Nike has long supported Florida A&M athletics, and I'm committed to lifting up HBCUs, so I was happy I rocked a pair of the PEs in game and showcased a piece of what's to come," James said in 2021 when his deal with the Rattlers was announced.
As for Shaqir O'Neal, he transferred to Florida A&M in the offseason after spending the first two years of his collegiate career with Texas Southern. He played 41 games for the Tigers but was only given limited minutes in his first two seasons. He averaged 1.6 points per game in just 8.4 minutes.
In his second game for the Rattlers, O'Neal was given a starting nod although the result could have been better against Maryland.
Shaquille O'Neal admits being jealous of LeBron James
LeBron James and his son Bronny made history as the first father-son duo in NBA history to play together. They did it on Opening Night when the LA Lakers beat the Minnesota Timberwolves in front of a sold-out Crypto.com Arena.
On his "Big Podcast," Shaquille O'Neal expressed his "professional jealousy" of what James did with his son. Shaq said he wanted to do the same thing with his son Shareef, but it didn't come to fruition.
"I strive off professional jealousy," O'Neal said, according to The Score. "Jealous a little bit. ... I take things that make me mad, and instead of hating, I use it to motivate me. ... My son was in that position. Life is all about titles. I would have loved to have that title first."
Shaq retired after the 2010-11 NBA season, while Shareef went undrafted in the 2022 draft. Shareef played for the LA Lakers in the NBA Summer League but wasn't signed to a contract. He played for the G League Ignite team during the 2022-23 season but hasn't suited up for another team since then.