Shareef O’Neal is on the path of solidifying himself as an NBA player. After going undrafted in the 2022 NBA Draft, O’Neal decided to go into the LA Lakers Summer League roster. After average performances, O’Neal wasn’t retained by the team and he has since signed a contract with the G League Ignite.
Shareef has had a contentious relationship with his father, Shaquille O’Neal because of his decision to leave college in his final year to declare for the NBA Draft. Considering Shareef’s journey of overcoming heart disease, it makes sense why Shaq would want him to get his degree and have opportunities to make a career outside basketball.
Despite the disagreements in the O’Neal family, the love between father and son is just as strong as it ever was. Shareef put up a picture of Shaq carrying him in his arms and saying that he missed him. Shaq responded to the image by simply telling his eldest son that he loves him.
This interaction between @SSJreef and @SHAQ is the most wholesome post of the day 💯 pic.twitter.com/7VFnN1HKW1
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) August 1, 2022
Shareef has taken a massive bet on himself by going against Shaq’s wishes and pushing to make his NBA dream a reality. Shareef will look to have an impressive debut season in the G League and hope that an NBA team recognizes what he can do on the court.
The 22-year-old was recently criticized by Robert Horry for not ‘having that dog in him’, with Horry going so far as to say that he almost called Shaq and told him that his son needs to stop benefitting from the O’Neal name.
Shareef averaged 4.5 points and 3.5 rebounds in Summer League in under 10 minutes a game. He will get a bigger opportunity in the G League and will have to make the most of it, otherwise, his NBA career may be over before it even began.
