Shaquille O’Neal is arguably the best center of all time. Four-time NBA champion and three-time NBA Finals MVP, O’Neal was unstoppable in his prime. He finished with the 2000 NBA MVP, 15 All-Star selections, while ranking in the top 10 all-time for points and blocks. Imagine following that up. That is the challenge his daughter and Florida Gators star Me’Arah O’Neal is carrying. 

O’Neal himself has raved about Me’Arah and the most promising talent she possesses. During Shaq’s Naismith Hall of Fame induction speech in 2016, he said that Me’Arah would be the best women’s basketball player ever. She was 10 at the time. However, Me’Arah did not even realize the hype and expectation around her.

“Growing up, I think it was a certain time in my life where I didn’t really understand it. You get what I’m saying?” She said on Free Game—An EssentiallySports Original featuring O’Neal and KN’isha Godfrey. “Because I was young. I was a kid. Like the only thing I really worried about was going to school and playing at recess for real. So that was really the only thing I was worried about.”

Sometimes, ignorance is bliss.

O’Neal was focused on the fun. That lack of pressure could have played a part in inculcating her talent. However, as she jumped levels, Me’Arah began to feel the effects of her lineage and the last name. “Once I started to, like, actually understand it, that’s when I got into, like, the AAU scenery,” She said. 

During the summer of 2023, O’Neal played with Texas-based EYBL club CyFair Elite on the AAU circuit. O’Neal, still in her junior year, thrived, averaging 7.8 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 1.7 assists in 19.8 minutes per game. She had to go up against some of the best players in the country. Her background made her the perfect target for the trash talk. It was her mother who guided Me’Arah in the right direction. 

“My mom really helped me with that, though, because one thing that my family has always talked about is, like, staying humble. So like, just because I had the last name of an all-star hall of famer doesn’t mean anything,” She further said. “Like it doesn’t mean you’re better than anybody. So I’ve just stuck with that pretty much. Just always thought about it that way. I’ve never ever wanted to come off as like stuck up or just dismissive or like better than anybody.”

O’Neal’s special relationship with her mother has been an open secret.

It was Shaunie Henderson who first got a glimpse of Me’Arah’s talent when Me’Arah’s P.E. teacher called her, saying, “I need you to see your daughter throw a football…” Have you ever seen her throw a football?” With Henderson in the stands, 5-year-old Me’Arah threw a pinpoint pass from 50 yards away.  

Almost immediately, Shaunie signed up her daughter to play flag football and recreational basketball in Orlando at the local YMCA. From then on the duo would spend all their weekends there and the rest, as they say, is history. “I am where I am today, entirely because of you. I am wholeheartedly grateful to be able to call you my momma. The strongest, most beautiful woman I know. @iamshaunie I love you, happy birthday,” wrote Me’Arah in 2024. 

With that foundation in place, O’Neal has come a long way, yet she still remembers the weight of the expectations and the pressure she carried as a kid. “Imagine people telling you your whole life, ‘Oh my gosh, you’re gonna be the best in the family. You’re that good, right? And then you go out and the results just aren’t there. It’s easy for a kid to get in their head and think, ‘Maybe this isn’t my zone,’” she recalled.

But she refused to let that define her.

Today, Me’Arah has evolved into a mature college basketball star. She is currently Florida’s second-leading scorer, averaging 13.8 points per game, and its leading rebounder with 6.7 per game. Determined to be known for more than the name on her jersey, O’Neal has begun channeling that same drive into a growing passion away from the game.

How Me’Arah O’Neal Dominates Both the Game and the Fashion Scene

In a December 2025 interview with EssentiallySports, Me’Arah O’Neal explained her love for fashion. “I like to call myself a fashionista because of my love for clothes and accessories, and yeah, just putting outfits together,” she said. O’Neal further revealed that she was working on a clothing brand of her own. “Unseen clothing brand,” as she called it while teasing an upcoming website. 

The website has since been released, and she has even announced a debut line. “The No Introduction” Collection, which drops in March 2026. A new brand takes a lot of work and time. That is something very limited with Me’Arah. So how does the basketball star manage her business?

“I think it goes back to just having people that are surrounded that have your best interest,” She said. “Basically, like my family, they know that I love clothes and basketball isn’t my only passion, so they’re generous enough to help me when we get to travel or when we have practice, like stuff like that. My agent helps me out with stuff like that because I don’t be I’m not good with numbers and all that. So, there’s all the extra stuff.”

This is O’Neal’s first such business venture. Yes, she has numerous NIL deals and collaborationss but running your own business is a completely different deal. With the help of her support system, like her mother, her father, her agent, and her teammates.