“Left hook” - Shaquille O’Neal’s son Shareef O’Neal shows off electrifying hooping skills via latest IG story
Shareef O’Neal, the son of NBA legend Shaquille O'Neal, showed off his basketball skills on Instagram. The former LSU Tigers forward was last playing for the NBA G-League Ignite for the 2022-23 season before it ceased operations.
In the video posted on his story, Shareef can be seen driving up to the basketball and downing a jumper. He captioned it:
“Left hook”
Shareef O’Neal was supposed to begin his college basketball career in 2018 with the UCLA Bruins but was delayed by a year due to a congenital heart defect. He red-shirted his freshman season and joined in 2019, where he averaged 2.2 points and 2.9 rebounds while playing just 10.2 minutes.
After one year with the Bruins, Shareef O’Neal transferred to his father's alum, LSU Tigers, where he played his remaining two years. The forward averaged 2.8 points and 3.1 rebounds.
After his graduation in 2022, O'Neal played one year for the G League Ignite, where he averaged 5.6 points and 3.2 rebounds. He shot 53.2% from the floor. In his 2011 book, Shaq Uncut: My Story, the Lakers legend revealed that he was jealous of his son and his athletic abilities.
"My son Shareef is an athlete. I’m very jealous of him. He was doing things on the basketball court at the age of eight that I couldn’t do until I was sixteen years old.
"I was his coach last summer, and we were undefeated. He’s very very funny and very sensitive. Sound like anyone you know?"
Shareef O’Neal once shared the struggles of being Shaq's son
Being a celebrity's child comes with a huge burden of carrying expectations and the famous parent's legacy.
If that isn't enough, kids also need to navigate people looking to exploit their connections. During an interview with the 'Now For Later' podcast with Eric Mika in 2023, Shareef O’Neal said:
"So that was hard, you know like finding friends who were really there for me or who were there just for the fact of who my family is…one of my best friends in middle school, he didn’t really know until he came over.
"He is like, 'Why didn’t you tell me?' I said I would have said something, but I just didn’t want you to treat me different. He was like, 'Oh! I don’t even like basketball.'"
Apart from friendships, O'Neal also revealed that it was difficult for him to date, as he feared that most people were with him for his money.
What do you think of Shareef O'Neal's statements about fame and friendships? Let's know in the comments section below:
Also read: "He can't shoot"- Shareef and Shaqir O'Neal call out dad Shaquille O’Neal for 'cheating' in 1v1s