Shareef O’Neal, son of Shaquille O’Neal, just got the opportunity to play in the summer league for the Los Angeles Lakers. The fans are not that satisfied by this, to say the least. Obviously, Shareef is still a prospect. He has only spent a year in college and registered for the NBA draft in 2022. Although he wasn’t picked in the draft, the Lakers signed him for their summer league, which commences next month.

Being the son of an NBA legend of Shaq’s stature is not easy. It is natural that the people would accuse and speculate about the case of nepotism. Especially when the team selecting him is the team his father was a big legend for. However, being the son of Shaq does not mean it determines whether he deserves a chance to play for the Lakers or not. Only his talent and hard work would govern that. But these speculations are not even the toughest thing Shareef faces as the son of Shaq.

Shareef shared how he feels that people need to recognize him as his own person more than they recognize him as Shaq’s son. He said, “Me being Shaq’s son, I feel like anywhere I go, any type of sport I play, like, they’re always going to bring his name into it.” 

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He continued, “And, you know, I’m, like, I’m my own person. I don’t need to try to fill his footsteps. I want to be better than him, actually. Yeah, I want to be better than him. I want people going up to him and being like, ‘Oh, that’s Shareef’s dad.’ So that’s a goal of mine.”

Shaquille O’Neal and Shareef’s public disagreement about him being a 2022 draft prospect

Ahead of the NBA draft, Shareef admitted that in one of the biggest decisions of his life, until now at least, he and his father shared different opinions. Shareef shared that they “bump heads” about him featuring in the NBA draft.

Shaq wanted his son to stay in school. On the other hand, Shareef wanted to better himself. Shaq knows that his son is working out with teams. But him featuring in the draft wasn’t something Shaq wanted for his son. The younger O’Neal just went through with it. He also added, “He [Shaq] didn’t do any pre-draft workouts; he just got straight on the [Orlando Magic], so it’s a different grind.” Comparing the different times and especially the different players both the O’Neal men are.

Now Shaq as a father and someone who has been a legend of the game had a strong point. Shareef has only played 37 games in three seasons at UCLA and LSU. He averaged only 2.6 points per game in college and needed heart surgery during his time at UCLA. Shareef was not drafted but will now get his chance with the Lakers. 

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Shareef might not be as good as his father yet, but that does not mean he will not be a good player. Him being ambitious can not be stated wrong either. What kind of player Shareef turns out to be is yet to be seen. But one thing is for sure, Shaquille O’Neal would still want the best for his son even if there was a disagreement about his decision.