Even though Shareef O’Neal went undrafted, big things are expected from him because of his father. NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal was one of the most dominant players in the history of basketball. During his time in the NBA, he has won 4 NBA titles. A three-peat with the Los Angeles Lakers from 2000 to 02, where he won the Finals MVP award on all three occasions. And another title with the Miami Heat.
In 2000, Shaq had a legendary year as he won the scoring title, All-Star MVP, regular-season MVP, NBA title, and Finals MVP. Furthermore, the Lakers have honored him by establishing a statue of him outside their arena.
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When your father’s statue is outside the arena, you are bound to have huge expectations. So it’s not surprising that Shareef O’Neal has a target on his back. And it looks like the fans are a bit disappointed with his showing.
While people are still unsure about his ability in the NBA, fans still expected more from him during his Lakers summer league debut.
Shareef O’Neal scores his first points for the Lakers
Shareef O’Neal came off the bench for their summer league opener against the Miami Heat. In 16 minutes of play, he scored 6 points with 6 rebounds, and 1 assist. He shot 2 for 3 from the field. But he didn’t score from the 3-point territory. And one fan pointed out Shareef’s lack of three-pointers, just like his father. The fan commented, “Already tied for 3s with his dad. Damn. This kid is gonna be great.”
Here are some of the other comments from fans:
“That was one of the greatest missed lobs in basketball this century. Showtime is definitely back in LA.”
“O’Neal will be one of the ALL-TIME Greats! Shaquille O’Neal.”
“O’neal is moving like Andrew Bynum did when he first came into the league. everything is sloooooow motion.”
“I would say “NO TIME” that’s about how much play time, they’ll get in the NBA.”
“Cant w8 till shaq feature his son in shaqtin’ a fool.”
However, Shareef has shown he is better than his Shaq in one department, free throws. He made all two of his free throw attempts.
While his performance wasn’t impressive, it is still decent for someone who wasn’t drafted. And he had to overcome his heart problems over the years. So the fans might need to have some patience with him.
The Lakers summer league team boasts a son of another Hall of Famer in Scotty Pippen Jr. After going undrafted, he made the Lakers summer league roster. Pippen Jr. started in their opener against the Heat, and scored 14 points, with 6 rebounds and 3 assists in 24 minutes.
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He made 3 for 9 from the field and went 1 for 5 from the 3-point line. Pippen Jr. was a two-time first-team All-SEC player at Vanderbilt.
It would be interesting to see what the future holds for the sons of these two NBA legends.
Written by
Edited by
Arunaditya Aima