With four NBA championships under his belt, along with a HoF induction, Shaquille O’Neal is someone who wouldn’t seem to be jealous of anyone. He truly has a blessed life. But he has openly expressed feelings of regret and jealousy over not being able to share the basketball court with his son Shareef, a dream that was cut short due to Shareef’s heart condition. While LeBron James and his son Bronny are set to make NBA history, Shaq reflects on what could have been, following Shareef’s struggle with a right anomalous coronary artery that derailed his promising basketball career.

During a recent episode of The Big Podcast With Shaq, the NBA legend candidly shared his feelings by saying, “I don’t know this about you, but I strive off professional jealousy. Jealous a little bit”. Shaq followed, “I take things that make me mad and instead of hating, I use it to motivate me. So my son was in that position. Life is all about titles. I would have loved to have that title first. So now that we got that out of the way, I’m happy for Bron.”

Shaq also revealed that he views Bronny James as a nephew and has offered him advice in handling the intense scrutiny that comes with following in his father’s footsteps. He also couldn’t stop himself from advising Bronny to just have fun and things would fall into place.

The 52-year-old feels that since Bronny chose the same path as LeBron, his moves are scrutinized to a larger extent. Even though Shaq admitted being happy for LeBron and his son, he highlighted his unfulfilled dream. “I wish that was me and Shareef or, you know, me and Shaqir.”

Although Shaq and Shareef didn’t play together on the court, they’ve found success in other ways off it.

Shaquille O’Neal and Shareef’s collaboration outside the basketball court

Following Shareef’s open heart surgery, the 24-year-old attempted to return to basketball. Going undrafted in the 2022 NBA Draft wasn’t what he hoped for but Shareef got a run in the G-League Ignite. To rejuvenate his career and passion for the game, he then eyed a move to Australia. But that was met with a negative sentiment from Shaq. Instead, they embarked on a journey together with Reebok.

During an episode of the Then They Rose podcast, Shareef revealed how his father persuaded him to join forces in Reebok. “He’s like, ‘Can you do me a favor this year? Can you help me rebrand Reebok? I’ll let you help redesign the shoes and redesign the clothes, and help sign players. I really need your help,” Shareef said. Surely that’s not enough for the father-son duo.

Shareef’s aim is to bring the culture back to Reebok. Shaq’s unquestionable support for Angel Reese is a part of that as the WNBA star became one of the faces of the company after the former NBA star joined the board. Shaq even flexed his son’s brainchild recently as Reese flaunted her new Reeboks during the WNBA season. The father-son dual act expects 2025 to be a big year for their company, just like LeBron James wants to make it a grand season with son Bronny.