Matching Shaquille O’Neal’s on-court legacy was always a mountain to climb for his kids. Some of his kids, Shaqir, Shareef, and Me’Arah, accepted the challenge, but for the eldest son, there was another major issue. In December 2018, Shareef O’Neal underwent open-heart surgery to treat an anomalous coronary artery diagnosis. It was during his UCLA days, and since then, he has continued to prepare to make that NBA dream possible. But that destination had another unexpected stop due to his father’s request.

In order to continue his dream to turn pro, the 25-year-old had plans to move about 7,500 miles away from home. But Shaq wasn’t completely on board. Because of the 2018 open heart surgery, he almost lost his son, so the Lakers legend wasn’t ready to be more than a few miles away from his eldest. Shareef previously narrated, “was gonna go play basketball in Australia for this year, and things started to change with my family… in a good way.”

In October 2023, Shaquille O’Neal was named the president of Reebok’s basketball operations. Allen Iverson joined the Big Aristotle as the vice president for the $2.46 billion-worth brand’s basketball wing. So, that’s when the 4x NBA champion asked his son to join in the new endeavors. The trailer of ‘Power Moves with Shaquille O’Neal’ followed his role with Reebok regrowth. In which Shaq asked his son for help.

“You’re gonna be my help,” Shareef quickly said. “Got you.” But then we cut to the former G-League star expressing his concern. “It’s kind of a weird time for me to help my dad ’cause I’m also trying to get into the NBA.” It’s not the first time he revealed helping his father with the Reebok rebrand. Even though he wanted to move to Australia, deep down, he knew that was not the right move.

“He kind of asked me for the help. I was like, for a second, I thought to myself, like I was really just going to leave my family by myself, go to Australia after they just came and supported me after all this. And you know they were all sitting with me through the hospital, so I’m never going to leave my family, not too far.” Last year, in episode 4 of Then They Rose, Shareef O’Neal expressed he was happy not to go different continent instead.

“But I decided to help my dad, rebrand Reebok, and you know we’re doing a really good job right now. I say by the time 2025 starts, Reebok will be up there with the rest of these brands, and I’m glad I can contribute with that.”

Shaquille O’Neal’s son’s NBA dreams were close to coming to a reality

On his social media in February, Shareef added a post to update his 2.6 million followers. “I beeen missin but im just gettin back.” The post was a carousel post with 9 photos, which also included the picture of the latest Reebok ‘Engine A.’ The same one that Angel Reese wore during the ‘Barbie Night’ in the game against the Indiana Fever.

Later, he would share on his Instagram story about his role. “Glad to have been apart of this [sic].” So, from his parents vetoing his move to Australia, Shaquille O’Neal’s son is happy to join his father at Reebok. But did you know, the 25-year-old was close to celebrating his off-court success with his NBA debut?

Last year, Shareef O’Neal was close to fulfilling his dream of playing in the NBA. He signed with the Sacramento Kings, but the next day was waived to their G-League affiliate team. Even with the Stockton Kings, he did not make the final roster list. Although his hooping dream has yet to materialize, he has made the most of his time.