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“Love You Nephew”: Is Shaquille O’Neal’s Ex-Wife Shaunie Related to Warriors’ Newest Acquisition?

Published 02/10/2023, 12:50 PM EST

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Shaunie Henderson, the ex-wife of NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal recently took to social media to share her excitement about an NBA trade. It was the latest move of NBA legend Gary Payton’s son Gary Payton II. After a successful year with the Golden State Warriors, Payton II joined the Portland Trail Blazers. He was an integral part of the Warriors’ rotation. So there was a huge expectation about the move. But the 2022 NBA champion struggled for game-time with the Blazers. Now, he will join the Dubs again in the current trade, which could give him the game time he deserves. Like many fans, Shaunie is also excited about the move. But is Payton II related to the Basketball Wives star and executive producer?

Shaunie Henderson is happy for Gary Payton II

Gary Payton II will return to the Golden State Warriors after his short stint with the Portland Trail Blazers. The Warriors gave up five future second-round picks to get their man back. As the report was shared on social media, Shaunie Henderson posted it on her Instagram stories with the caption, “This trade made my whole day! Love you Nephew @garydwayne”. This has led some to think that the two are related. But it looks like they are separate.

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However, Shaunie has known Payton II’s mother, Monique James, for years now. Monique is the ex-wife of Hall of Famer Gary Payton. Shaunie and Monique know each other from the Basketball Wives reality series. She was also a very talented multi-sport athlete in high school, playing basketball and running track.

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“Disrespectful to All the Women Who Look Up to You”: Ex-Wife Shaunie’s Latest Move Is Not Going Down Well With Shaquille O’Neal Fans

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Also, the friendship of Shaunie and Monique led to their children playing on the same team. A few years ago, Payton II, Shareef, and Shaqir O’Neal played on the same team in the Drew League. So Shaunie has known Payton II for a long time and was happy about his move to the Warriors.

Gary Payton’s advice

Being the child of an NBA legend takes work. People expect the child to be better than the parent or at the same level. This constant pressure to be great from a young age is hard to deal with. Gary Payton recently gave a piece of advice to superstar LeBron James regarding the expectation of his son, Bronny.

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He suggested LeBron should not put too much pressure on his son. Furthermore, he talked about his experience as a father with his son following in his footsteps. The Glove stated that the four-time NBA champion should not compare his son with himself and noted that he gave the same advice to his son, Gary Payton II.

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Written by:

Bagavathi Eswaran

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Bagavathi Eswaran is an NBA writer at EssentiallySports. He has been playing the game of basketball for more than 20 years now and has also been following the NBA for more than 10 years. After not being able to go pro, this former college player decided to join the IT industry.
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Edited by:

Jayant Chhabra