Shareef O’Neal is hinting at something big. Shaquille O’Neal and Shaunie Henderson’s eldest son was on a promising path to the NBA after overcoming his health issues. He celebrated six years since his heart surgery in December 2023 and was last playing in the NBA G-League Ignite. But he’s had a limited presence on the court in recent months.

He was on his Instagram Stories acknowledging the lack of updates on his basketball trajectory as well as implying a big comeback. “I been missin…it’s for a reason,” he wrote before further adding Arnold Schwarzenegger style, “I’ll be back mfs. Remember that.” 

In high school, Shareef was a no.18 overall recruit in the class of 2018. He was fielding offers from Baylor, LSU, UCLA, Kansas State, and a scholarship from USC while also playing in the Nike EYBL circuit with Bol Bol.

Initially committed to Arizona, he switched to UCLA. But he missed his first college season due to health issues and had to wear a heart monitor. After the UCLA medical staff diagnosed him with a heart condition, he underwent surgery on December 12, 2018.

While a tense time for the O’Neal family, Shareef bounced back and made his UCLA debut in the 2019-20 season. He’d transfer to LSU, his dad’s alma mater, to play for the rest of his college career. While hampered by a foot injury, the 6’10” forward averaged 2.6 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 0.1 assists in his LSU career.

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Despite all the hype surrounding Shaq’s son, he went undrafted in the 2022 NBA draft. He joined his dad’s former team, the Lakers, in the 2022 NBA Summer League and signed with the G-League Ignite that same year. The official 2022-23 statline mentions he had a GP of 20 but there’s no record of the past year. Not that he didn’t have an action-packed year.

Shareef O’Neal’s eventful 2023

Shaquille O’Neal’s six kids are conscious of their dad’s 7’1″ shadow following them but they’re determined to be out of it. Shareef, in particular, laid out his stance while on the Now For Later podcast in 2023. Whenever someone approaches him to ask about Shaq, he makes it clear, “I’m Shareef. My name isn’t Shaq’s son. That’s literally not my name.” 

He’s occasionally returned to LSU to watch his old team play and even to watch the Reebok signee, Angel Reese, and the team, sometimes with his dad. He’s accompanied Shaq and Myles to their respective DJ events and they seemed to have ‘boys nights’ too. Shareef and his family were also cheering on Bronny James when he went through a similar health episode.

As for playing, Shareef was giving his dad a hard time 1-on-1 during their Thanksgiving getaway in the Bahamas. He was also in Miami with Shaq and Taahirah for a series of events. Whatever he’s bringing in the future promises to be huge. What do you think Shareef has in store?

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