In 2016, Shaquille O’Neal surprised his youngest baby with a bold statement. Eight years later, she’s steadily making her dad’s prediction come true. But it doesn’t mean it was easy to absorb. After all, Me’Arah O’Neal was merely 10 when Shaq put the spotlight on her in his Hall of Fame speech. She’s expressing her candid thoughts on the moment her larger-than-life dad thrust her in the spotlight through SportsCenter.

After Shaq has been profiled in numerous documentaries and interviews, it’s Meezy’s turn in Me’Arah O’Neal: Out of the Shadows. The SportsCenter documentary airs this weekend and hypemom extraordinaire, Shaunie Henderson shared the most poignant moment from that.

“EVERYBODY Tune into SportsCenter This Sunday, March 31 for @mearahoneal_ Featured segment debut “Me’Arah O’Neal: Out of the Shadows”! Watch and witness the determination, hard work, and passion that has propelled Me’Arah to greatness on the court. Don’t miss IT!” Shaunie wrote on Instagram in a clip that begins from Shaquille O’Neal’s speech when he was inducted in the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame. That night he projected Meezy as the next big thing to hit women’s basketball.

Cut to 17-year-old Me’Arah being asked how that moment felt. “I mean it’s scary,” she said after an anxious laugh. Can you blame her.

Big Diesel had a sprinkle of humor in his HoF speech but the most emotional moment was when he included his family. He had the youngest of his six kids, Me’Arah stand and wave to the crowd when he said, “Me’Arah will probably be the best women’s basketball player ever.” He said in that same speech he doesn’t like to put pressure on any of his babies. But since he did that, he helped her cope with it too.

Me’Arah O’Neal is a diamond

Ahead of her signing a national letter of intent to play with the Florida Gators, Me’Arah got candid about growing up an O’Neal. She recalled that though she was cool during her dad’s speech, she later told her mom, ‘Oh my God, I can’t believe he said that!” 

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But almost a decade later, Meezy revals the piece of advice her dad gave her. “My dad always tells me that pressure makes diamonds,” and that helps her deal with the pressure of fame. She’s now a McDonald’s All-American, something her dad did over three decades ago. But she’s not here to be another Shaq. Both Meezy and Shaq wanted her to be her own person and athlete.

We’re going to see how she’s accomplishing that when Me’Arah O’Neal: Out of the Shadows airs on SportsCenter this Sunday.

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