Former NBA star Jermaine O’Neal appeared on the latest episode of the Out The Mud podcast, where he made some interesting revelations. O’Neal revealed that his last name is not actually real, and that his father had 33 children.
“When my mother was pregnant with me, he [father] dipped,” O’Neal said. “Crazy story, my last name is made up… Not even his name. I’m one of 33 kids, true story. I met 17 of them when he died. So, I met him at 30, died 13 months later. So, I spent my whole life without really knowing him.
“My brother used to always tell me these stories,” O’Neal continued. “My father went to jail for murder, got out… Every year over year now, I’m finding out more and more things about him because I was so upset about the n***a not choosing me. Why not me? You chose my brother. I hear the stories about all the toys.”
O’Neal’s father was present for the first two years of his elder brother Clifford’s life. His departure meant the task of raising the two children was left to their mother, Angela Ocean. O’Neal had a bit of a difficult relationship with his mother at times, but now credits her for his success.
“My mother, she was the force behind everything,” O’Neal stated. “You get your a** beat up in the streets, you going to go home and get your a** beat at home. She wanted to set the standard, because we ain’t had nothing else but the standard to live off of.
“So, it was one of those things where my mother became just a rock for me,” O’Neal added. “She taught me a lot, she taught me to value everything.”
With his mother’s support, O’Neal would make the best out of the difficult circumstances. He made a name for himself at Eau Claire High School of the Arts and chose to skip college and go directly to the NBA.
The Portland Trail Blazers would select O’Neal with the 17th pick of the 1996 NBA Draft. He didn’t get much of an opportunity to play during his time with the Trail Blazers, though, and only became a star after being traded to the Indiana Pacers in 2000.
O’Neal won Most Improved Player in 2002 with the Pacers. He also made the first of six straight All-Star appearances that year. O’Neal established himself as one of the better power forwards in the NBA during that time, even finishing third in MVP voting in 2003.
O’Neal would end up playing for 18 seasons in the NBA. He finished with career averages of 13.2 points, 7.2 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 0.5 steals, and 1.8 blocks per game.
