Shaquille O’Neal has claimed on his podcast that his daughter is the best athlete in the O’Neal family. Now Lexington, Kentucky, has all the attention of not just the college basketball community but also of the NBA world thanks to Me’Arah O’Neal. Since her transfer from Florida, another standout performance by the supremely talented daughter of the Los Angeles Lakers icon has impressed basketball dads everywhere.
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After spending the first two seasons of her collegiate career playing for the Florida Gators, where she steadily developed her game before entering the transfer portal, O’Neal made a huge choice to join the Kentucky Wildcats before the 2026–27 season. That transition has already paid massive dividends, capturing the fascination of basketball fans and drawing loud public approval from some of the most recognizable names in professional basketball.
The excitement reached a fever pitch following Kentucky’s dominant 98–30 victory over Evansville at Kentucky’s Memorial Coliseum. While the Wildcats’ freshman star, Emily McDonald, stole individual headlines by setting a single-game program record with nine 3-pointers and scoring 27 points, Meezy put on an absolute clinic in efficiency.
In just 20 minutes of action, the 6’5 versatile forward racked up 18 points on a blistering 6-of-7 shooting from the field, 2-of-3 from the arc, and made all four free throws. In stark contrast to Big Diesel’s lower-post style, she added another eight rebounds, three assists, and a block without committing a single turnover.
Her most stellar sequence was when she single-handedly scored Kentucky’s first 11 points to ignite a 14-0 run. It just showcased why she has become an indispensable piece of head coach Kenny Brooks’ squad.
Shaquille O’Neal’s daughter impresses NBA stars
When ESPNW captured her explosive start and shared a highlight reel spotlighting her phenomenal performance on social media, the post instantly went viral. Legendary basketball figures, prominently those who have been terrorized by prime Shaq on the court, flooded the comment section to show their unwavering support, turning the player’s recent masterclass into a major league-wide talking point.
Former NBA All-Star and explosive scoring guard Gilbert Arenas was among the first to voice his approval, commenting a series of “🔥🔥🔥🔥❤️” to celebrate O’Neal’s dominant outing. His son, Alijah, is balling at USC, and Gil has a way of showing support to NBA scions.
Sharing a similar sentiment, Arenas jumped into the comments to show love, leaving a glowing review of “🔥❤️”.
Someone who has seen Meezy since she was a baby, Shaq’s former Miami Heat teammate, Antoine Walker, also joined the digital celebration, commenting, “Big blue nation 🔥👏🙌.”
This is personal for Walker on many levels. Not only is she the daughter of his teammate from the 2006 championship squad, but he’s a former Wildcat himself. Walker led Kentucky to the 1996 NCAA championship, and he might be counting on an O’Neal to repeat history.
Meezy’s own tight-knit personal circle wasn’t far behind. Her stepdad, Keion Henderson, chimed in to celebrate her standout display with a string of fiery emojis, commenting, “🔥🔥🔥.” Her mom, Shaunie Henderson, dropped a like.
Meanwhile, her brothers Shareef and Shaqir showed the ultimate sibling support by resharing the post and double-tapping.
Dwight Howard, Vince Carter, Udonis Haslem, and Jamal Crawford also dropped likes on the highlight.
As for the big man himself, Shaq’s quiet right now, but he confessed right after her transfer that his daughter’s talent makes him jealous.
“My baby is the best athlete in the family because she can do it all. And, you know, she’s not an old-school player. She’s this new picking type player. So I’m going to go ahead and give her the title. She can shoot. She can dribble. I don’t get emotional and cry a lot, but sometimes when I watch her play, I want to cry because I’m like, she’s really good. So I’m happy for her. She makes me super, super proud. Like, I wasn’t watching the game the other day, and my boy D-Mac came and said, ‘Man, baby killing.’ So I saw some of the highlights, and she was, gee, like four or five threes. I was like, God d*mn. It actually made me get jealous,” he said on The Big Podcast.
With Kentucky improving to a pristine 4–0 on the young season and O’Neal averaging robust numbers across the board, the summer transfer is rapidly proving that she carries the elite talent to back up her legendary last name. As the Wildcats prepare to host Eastern Michigan, Meezy continues to turn heads, proving that her dad’s repeated praise of her as the family’s best athlete will come true soon.