“We don’t need another basketball player,” Shaquille O’Neal once told his son—a reminder that the O’Neal legacy could thrive beyond the hardwood. For Shareef O’Neal, whose playing career stalled despite several tries, Shaq ensured a soft landing by steering him toward basketball-adjacent ventures, keeping him tied to the game in new ways. Truth is, Shareef might be an even better fit as the family’s next sneaker mogul. But if so, why did he leave Reebok?

After Netflix’s Power Moves, fans were left wondering whether Shareef O’Neal was still with Reebok. The answer is no—he stepped away to give his NBA dream another shot, despite years of setbacks that included multiple surgeries and a serious heart condition that nearly ended his career before it began. When that pursuit didn’t pan out, Shareef pivoted back to the sneaker world, but this time he’s carving his own lane outside of Reebok. So where is he?

In response, the dad of six confirmed Shareef is no longer at Reebok. “Well, Sharif is now at the SHAQ Brand and I’m letting him do what he do. I wouldn’t say we’re having a rift, but he’s just doing something that makes me proud. He said, ‘Dad, you’re old, and your way is old, let me show you.’ So, he’s now working at the SHAQ Brand. I’m gonna let him do his thing.”

Shareef’s transition to the SHAQ Brand highlights Shaquille O’Neal’s hands-on approach to building a family legacy beyond the court. Having navigated his own ventures with Reebok and other business endeavors, Shaq is now passing the torch, giving Shareef the space to lead and innovate within the in-house brand. It’s a move that allows Shareef to carve out his own identity while staying closely tied to the family empire, with Shaq guiding him every step of the way.

A year out of the G-League, Shareef was ready to move to Australia to play professional basketball there. Shaq, partially out of concern for his son’s heart condition, talked him out of it. One of the first people he disclosed his Reebok comeback to was Shareef, and he invited him to help with the brand’s revival.

O’Neal officially returned to Reebok in October 2023 with his son. After enabling the launches of Reebok by Angel (Reese) and the Reebok Engine A, Shareef left to sign with the Sacramento Kings. He was waived in a day, signed with the G-League team, Stockton Kings, and waived off it too. But Shaq was there to welcome him to his exclusive brand. He’s doing his own thing indeed. And having Shareef in his team has been beneficial to Shaq.

The SHAQ Brand encompasses all of the big man’s businesses, but its flagship product is the affordable and inclusive sneaker line. In 1998, O’Neal walked away from Reebok’s $40 million deal after a hassled mother scolded him for selling overpriced sneakers. He launched his own brand where sneakers aren’t more than $40. He’s sold 100 million pairs of his sneakers through Walmart and Lowe’s. O’Neal returned to Reebok but continues his parallel sneaker brand with the Dunkman logo (designed by Reebok).

Shareef helped Shaquille O’Neal understand new audience

Taahirah O’Neal is involved in Big Chicken. Myles is a DJ and one-half of the O’Neal Boyz. Me’Arah was named the next biggest female basketball player in her dad’s Hall of Fame speech. It was not surprising that Shaquille O’Neal chose Shareef to lead his sneaker endeavors.

Shaq first coached Shareef during his AAU days alongside Bol Bol, but it was Shareef’s battle with a congenital heart defect that required open-heart surgery in 2018 that shifted his father’s vision, steering him toward the sneaker business. As Shareef began exploring this new path, he quickly demonstrated a keen understanding of the culture and trends that resonated with younger athletes—so much so that he convinced Shaq to see the market through his eyes.

“I brought my son in to help me speak the language of these youngsters cuz, as you guys know, these f—ing youngsters are crazy. My son was very smart, you know, I told him very well. He knows that he can’t confront me. So he said, ‘Dad, I want you to come to a tournament with me.’ So I go to the tournament and he’s like, ‘I don’t want you to watch the game. I just want you to look at all the shoes.’” Seeing the sneakers the young athletes wore, 53-year-old O’Neal finally admitted high tops were banished to the fashion archives.

This is giving the same energy as Shaq’s (step)father, showing the Lakers legend how the homeless live to stop whining about ‘pressure.’

Shareef helped in the designs and marketing of Angel Reese’s Reebok line and the brand’s first performance shoe in a decade, the Reebok Engine A.

Now that he’s part of the SHAQ Brand, Shareef has accompanied his dad to certain events. Most recently, he was at the Brooklyn NYC Hoops Academy, where Shaq distributed sneakers to the kids. Shareef is probably the lucky charm as the SHAQ Brand inked a $480 million deal to sell his sneakers in Turkiye.