For a guy who can demand 60 points from a player on a given night, Shaquille O’Neal is a realistic guy. He is not ignorant of the fact that he wasn’t a better husband and father during his NBA career. His relationship with his kids has since evolved. We now get to see him deejaying with Myles, doing silly Reels with Taahirah, running his shoe empire with Shareef, and coaching Shaqir and Me’Arah. Even Shareef admits the big guy has grown as a dad.

Shaq’s relationship with Shareef is unique. The two often clashed about what’s good for him. From entering the NBA draft after Shareef’s heart surgery to the design of the latest Reebok shoe, the two headstrong O’Neals have butted heads. These clashes made Shaq realize his 25-year-old son is a perfect fit to run the SHAQ Brand.

Unlike how Succession might make it seem, Shaq and Shareef have established a neat dynamic at work, something Shareef revealed to The Boardroom. “It’s a rebrand from the beginning. He [Shaq] wants someone to take the face, and it’s kind of up to whoever he signs. My dad is kind of like the main guy to go to.”

When the two O’Neals interact at work, it’s a very different dynamic. “It’s different from a father-son thing; it’s kind of like a business partner thing now. There will be times where we cuss each other out. I’ll say, ‘Yo, this shoe is not it. Let’s do this and do that.’ We’ll go back and forth and bump heads,” Shareef further revealed during the interview.

Shareef is officially the creative director of the SHAQ brand after he spent a year scouting and marketing at Reebok. He’d leave Reebok to try for the Sacramento Kings. We saw on Netflix’s Power Moves that Shaq didn’t like that decision.

Shareef was waived by the Kings in a day. But Shaq was ready with Plan B. He brought Shareef on board his own brand to connect the 43-year-old Dunkman to the current generation. With his natural business insight, Shareef earned a lot more than respect from his dad.

Shaquille and Shareef O’Neal rebuilt their relationship

Among all his kids, Shaquille O’Neal’s bond with Shareef isn’t the most cosy. Shaq wasn’t a present dad when he was growing up and Shareef took his divorce from Shaunie really hard. O’Neal’s bond with them changed after he retired.

After Shareef overcame a congenital heart defect and open-heart surgery, he was ready to go to the NBA. Shaq didn’t like that. After a stint in the G League, Shareef was going to play pro-ball in Australia. So Shaq brought him to Reebok. At Reebok, he convinced Shaq that kids don’t wear high-tops anymore. That was one of the incidents O’Neal realized his son’s built for this job.

Even Shaq recently admitted that Shareef’s opinionated ways convinced him he’s ready for something bigger. “My son is taking over now because my s—t was kind of old.” That made Shaq step back and promote his son. While Shareef is the creative strategist on paper, he’s pretty much running the brand.

It’s a full circle moment for the big guy. He walked away from Reebok in 1998 to start the SHAQ brand and bring affordable sneakers to kids. After selling 100 million units and returning to Reebok, his son has taken a similar trajectory. Within months, Shareef has helped his dad take the brand overseas, including a multi-million dollar deal in Turkiye.

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Shareef said this has also brought them closer than before, as “I was kind of like the first one to bump heads with him.”

He also gets that his dad wants the best for him. Shareef might be the one who understands Shaq’s ambitions in the sneaker business – to compete with the best. With his smarts and their dynamic, this might actually work.