“I was gone a lot because of my job and I didn’t always want to be the bad guy, so I sort of relinquished my position as (disciplinarian).” Shaquille O’Neal once candidly accepted his lack of duties as a father figure in his kids’ lives. So, naturally, Shaunie Henderson spearheaded those duties, and it seems even today she is the one doing it. She didn’t forget Shareef’s important event, and even the other family members joined in.

First, the mother of five added a post on Instagram. “25 on 1/11/25 🔥 Happy Birthday to my favorite second oldest @shareefoneal I love you so much! ❤️.” After his health scare incident back in 2018, Shaquille O’Neal and Shaunie Henderson’s eldest son made a remarkable recovery.

So, the birthday wish becomes more emotional, reminding everyone of those dark days. Even Shareef commented on the post thanking his mother. “I love you mama !!”

She was the one by his side when the doctors dropped the bombshell of the news. The 25-year-old suffered from a congenital heart defect, which required open-heart surgery to fix it. Although there were risks involved, there was no guarantee that he would continue his hooping journey.

Fast forward to today, those dark days are behind them as he tries to find his NBA dream. Last year, it seemed it was one step away from him signing with the Kings, but did not materialize into something meaningful.

Despite Shaquille O’Neal not celebrating on social media, he surely would have done it in private. Nevertheless, Shaunie Henderson added his son’s highlights and throwback photos to cherish the day. And she was not the only one celebrating Shareef!

Shaquille O’Neal’s kids make their brother’s day more special

Their divorce was finalized in 2011, but ever since that day, their co-parenting duties have been to the tee. Just for example, when their youngest kids Shaqir and Me’Arah had their debut games at the same time, Shaunie and Shaquille O’Neal had the perfect solution.

The former went to the daughter’s game, while the latter attended his son’s game. With that, even the kids have learned to be each other’s biggest cheerleaders.

Myles added multiple stories to celebrate Shareef. “Happy Birthday to my Brother @shareefoneal.” One of those stories was a throwback photo of the two. EvenAmirah did the same, as she wrote, “Happy Birthday twin 🌟💛  the best brother, I love you!” Another “twin” message was echoed by Shaquille O’Neal’s youngest. As Me’Arah added, “Happy Birthday twin ❤️ I love you brudda 🤞🏽 @shareefoneal.”

After all the love from friends and family, the former G League star added a post of his own. “25! ANOTHER YEAR❤️.” Even on the post, Shaunie Henderson added, “Happy Birthday son! ❤️❤️❤️❤️.” So, on multiple fronts, the executive producer of the Basketball Wives made her son’s even more special.