When Shareef O'Neal had a humorous take on his father Shaquille O'Neal's height
Shaquille O'Neal is widely regarded as one of the greatest NBA players of all time. The Hall of Fame center was listed as 7'1, however, his son, Shareef O'Neal, may have cast doubt on that with a simple tweet.
Check out Shareef O'Neal's post and Shaquille O'Neal's response below:
Cat's out the bag 😂
@SSJreef | @SHAQ https://t.co/oZ6rUSwjmM
Height comparison between Shaquille O'Neal and his son
Shareef O'Neal, son of 1999-2000 NBA MVP Shaquille O'Neal, is now a member of the NBA G League Ignite. While his father was listed as 7'1 throughout his legendary career, the younger O'Neal stands at 6'10, according to G League Ignite's official roster.
Despite the photo above, where Shareef O'Neal looks like he could be as tall as the 4-time NBA champion, it is important to note that his hair adds to his height, as does his proximity to the camera. At just 22 years old, Shareef is looking to work his way through the G League to earn an NBA roster spot.
Shaquille O'Neal wanted Shareef O'Neal to stay in school
Shareef O'Neal went undrafted in the 2022 NBA Draft, however, he did receive a workout, as well as a Summer League roster spot with the LA Lakers. Prior to his first draft workout with the Lakers, Shareef detailed how his father, Lakers legend Shaquille O'Neal, wanted him to stay in school.
The younger O'Neal stated:
"It kinda made it a little scary for me, he's big on education. I felt like in college I wasn't getting an opportunity. I wasn't feeling like myslef in college. I got that invite to the G League Elite camp and that opened a lot of doors for me. I said that before, I feel like that really brought me back and kinda showed a little bit of what I can do.
"Once I started getting calls from teams to work out, I was like, man, this is what I want to do, I'm here, it's right in front of me, just go for it so I continued to work.
"He didn't like that idea at all. It sucks that he didn't like that idea, but I'm a grown man, I'm 22 years old, I can make my own decisions. It was right in front of my face. I'm not backing up from it. I'm going to go get it if I see it.
"I know he's an NBA legend, I know he's my dad, but it's right in front of me, I had to go get it. If he likes it or not, it's not really going to stop me from doing what I want to do, and like I said, I want to play basketball, I want to get it, so I'm here."
While Shareef went undrafted, he has carved out a spot on the G League Ignite. He is currently averaging nearly ten points per game while shooting over 50% from the field in just over 18 minutes per game. His points, efficiency, and playing time are all at a higher level than at any point in his three-year college career.
Watch Shareef O'Neal's full draft workout interview below: