NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal is the father of Shareef O’Neal, the 6’10” power forward currently playing in the NBA G-League with the Ignite team in Nevada. Shareef was a redshirt freshman at UCLA when he underwent heart surgery in December 2019.
When Shareef shared the photos below, of him on the court, he captioned it: “Keep beating the odds.”
After the successful surgery and recovery, Shareef transferred to his father’s alma mater, Louisiana State University but a foot injury kept the young O’Neal from playing with the Tigers in the 2020-21 season.
O’Neal went undrafted in the 2022 NBA Draft, played with the Lakers in the NBA Summer League, and in September officially signed with the NBA G League Ignite.
NBA G-League reports on the 22-year-old O’Neal: “He’s been a key member off the bench for @gleagueignite. He’s averaging 5.8 points (66.7% FG) in only 11.0 minutes so far this season,” and “He runs the floor well, is extremely athletic, and has a really nice touch on his jumper. Wishing him the best as he continues on his basketball journey.”
