There was a time when the sight of Shaquille O’Neal and Zach Randolph sharing space meant trouble. It meant elbows, trash talk, and two of the league’s most imposing forces battling for position in the paint. But things change. Now, the two former enforcers find themselves on common ground, not as rivals, but as fathers who have passed on the baton to their next generation. And on a recent episode of The Big Podcast with Shaq, we got a rare look at this new reality.

The whole thing kicked off when Z-Bo joined the show. “I want to commend you as a dad,” Shaq started. “I saw your daughter play one time… and when you look at a kid and go ‘who the f— is that?’ they’re doing something. So I’m looking I’m like ‘damn who is that?’ My daughter said that’s Z-Bo’s daughter. I’m like, my Z-Bo? Like bro, your daughter is a beast… How did she play so mean?”

Randolph, laughing like any proud dad would, explained that familiar struggle of trying to coach your own kid. “You know they don’t really want to listen to me, man,” he said. “She listen to other coaches. But you know as a father, I’m going to stay on her man… She works hard.” But he quickly flipped the praise back to Shaq. “Shout out to you too man, you’re a great father… She a sweetheart and she a hooper too, so shout out to Me’arah.”

And that’s when everything shifted. When Z-Bo brought up Me’arah, you could hear the change in Shaq’s voice. This wasn’t the analyst or the legend talking anymore. This was just a dad, trying to explain a feeling that almost bowls him over. He admitted he initially tried to keep Me’arah from playing, but her talent was just too undeniable. Now, he sees her as the best basketball player in a hooping family that includes two sons, Shareef and Shaqir, with their own D-1 careers and, well, himself.

“She’s the best one,” he stated, a stunning admission. “Shareef is good, Shaqir is good, but she… I, when I go watch her play, I damn near want to cry. You know I have to keep my composure, she’s she’s really freaking good.” For a man who built a legacy on power, watching his 6-foot-4, Florida-bound daughter dominate with a modern, skilled game for her team at Episcopal High School must be an entirely different kind of victory.

Of course, Shaq is still a dad, and he had to get in one little critique, a hilarious look into the mind of a Hall of Fame parent watching his kid play. “And the only thing I don’t like about her,” he admitted, “she’s like these new age kids, they play at their own pace. Like if she have a turnover, won’t sprint back on defense, it’ll just be like… she plays at her own pace.”

However, the pride isn’t just coming from Shaq’s side, either. Me’arah’s mother, Shaunie Henderson, is often her daughter’s biggest cheerleader. After a standout performance earlier this year, Shaunie took to social media, to tell everyone just how proud she is of her daughter.

With both a Hall of Fame father analyzing her every move and a dedicated mother cheering her on, Me’arah has a support system as formidable as her game. And while Shaq is grappling with the pride of seeing his family’s legacy evolve, he’s applying that same “real recognizes real” logic to the NBA.

Why Shaquille O’Neal sees the ghost of his own dominance in SGA

In a recent interview with Netflix Sports, Shaq made a bold, almost shocking statement about SGA. “If I had to start with anybody, I’d start with SGA,” he declared. “Because out of all the guards you talk about, my guy over here kills these guys every time.” It was a massive endorsement, a passing of the torch from one of the all-time greats to the next generation. Shaq didn’t just call him good, he called him a “hidden superstar” who “doesn’t get enough respect.” He even let it slip that he once tried to sign SGA to a shoe deal with Reebok, which tells you everything you need to know about how highly he rates his potential.

It’s a fascinating comment because it brings up a parallel to Shaq’s own career. For years, the question lingered: who was the real number one on those dominant three-peat Lakers teams, Shaq or Kobe? Gilbert Arenas recently put that debate to bed, arguing that during that run, Shaq was undisputedly the “best player in the world.” As Arenas put it, “Everyone in the NBA those three years, if they played with Shaquille O’Neal, they would’ve been option two… He was the best player in the NBA.”

Now, decades later, it’s Shaq who is pointing to the league’s next alpha. He seems to recognize in SGA the same quiet killer instinct and undeniable talent that he once embodied. And with the Thunder’s season on the line in the NBA Finals, Shaq’s words have added a whole new layer of pressure and intrigue. Can SGA live up to that massive co-sign?

It’s a perfect full-circle moment. The most dominant big man of all time, a guy who once demanded to be the undisputed number one option, is now championing a new-age guard as the best in the business. It’s a sign of how the game has changed, but also a testament to the timeless nature of greatness. Now, with the whole world watching, SGA has a chance to prove the big fella right.