Playing against Michael Jordan, the one player Shaq is afraid of, couldn’t prepare the big guy for the scariest moment of life. For Shaquille O’Neal, the biggest challenge of his life was seeing his son, Shareef, go through open-heart surgery. While Shaq’s now the quintessential overprotective dad, Shareef O’Neal has turned a life-altering medical episode into a remarkable story. In a candid interview on WNBA star Angel Reese’s podcast, Unapologetically Angel, he revealed what it’s like to go through that.

Shareef was diagnosed with anomalous right coronary artery at 18 when he had just started at UCLA. “No, it was a crazy situation at UCLA… I was out for like a year and a few months. I went from like 220 lbs to like 170… It was pretty crazy,” Shareef revealed to Angel Reese.

The young athlete praised the UCLA medical staff, specifically a trainer named Shane, for discovering a congenital heart defect that had gone undetected for 18 years. “I’m glad I was able to be at a school that took that much time to find out what was going on with me… I was getting cleared basically my whole life by all these doctors to play basketball and I wasn’t supposed to be,” he admitted.

He’s occasionally posted clips from his high school games to confirm he had been experiencing symptoms since his early teens. After UCLA staff identified the congenital heart defect, he wore a bulky heart monitor that he initially tried to hide from peers, only for a single “press of a button” during a moment of physical distress to save his life.

Since the diagnosis in September 2018, the O’Neals couldn’t put off the inevitable. In December that year, Shareef underwent the surgery. He’d flex the stitches across his chest, calling himself ‘Zipper Boy’ on social media. Yet that positivity also belied a lot of hidden insecurity he’s opening up about now.

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The surgery required him to relearn how to walk, a journey he describes as “pretty scary” but ultimately transformative for his mindset. He didn’t just relearn basic functions, he was back on the court, played in the G-League, and took two shots at the NBA. All against Shaq’s wishes.

Shareef’s ambitions clashed with a concerned Shaquille O’Neal

While his health scare at UCLA initially cast a shadow over his athletic future, Shareef has pivoted into a powerful new role within the sports world. The 26-year-old is now a key executive in his father’s empire.

Shaquille O’Neal initially prevented Shareef from going to Australia to play pro-ball overseas. Instead, he tapped Shareef to serve as a Creative Strategist for Reebok. This move is part of a strategic effort to bridge the gap between the heritage brand and a younger generation of athletes, a role Shaq highlighted in his Netflix docuseries Power Moves.

Shareef was one of the key influences behind Angel Reese’s signature shoe design and the newest Reebok Engine A. He was arguable a better fit in the shoe business.

The Big Aristotle with a dominant career spanning 19 NBA seasons didn’t push his kids into the same path. But he was especially against Shareef entering the NBA draft and trying again for the Sacramento Kings. O’Neal admitted that he had a big fight with his son when he entered the 2022 draft.

When the Kings waived Shareef, O’Neal brought Shareef onboard the SHAQ Brand, his affordable sneaker line adjacent to Reebok. Shaq has officially handed over the reins, stating, “My son is taking over now because my s— was kind of old.”

While his heart condition derailed his basketball career before it began, Shareef continues to train even today. As he told Reese, his primary motivation for returning to the court was personal: “I just wanted to play just for my own self. I feel like just to make my 18-year-old self proud.” Today, Shareef balances that competitive spirit with a leadership role that ensures the O’Neal legacy continues to evolve, both on and off the court.