Shareef O’Neal, Who Recently Joined Lakers, Was Brutally Scolded by Father Shaquille O’Neal to End Nepotism Debate

NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal is one of the most dominant players ever to play the game of basketball. During his prime, he was unstoppable and a force to be reckoned with, backed by the number of backboards shattered by him. He is also someone who speaks his mind during and after his NBA career.

Shaq is a media mastermind and attends various shows and podcasts to give his opinion on matters. While he currently works as an analyst for TNT’s ‘Inside the NBA’ show, he also has his own podcast. With co-hosts Nischelle Turner and NFL veteran Spice Adams, O’Neal talks about almost everything that is trending around the world.

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Shaq’s son, Shareef O’Neal, followed in his father’s footsteps to be a basketball player. Even though he went undrafted, he made the Los Angeles Lakers summer league roster. In the team’s first game against the Miami Heat, he came off the bench and scored 6 points with 6 rebounds and 1 assist in 16 minutes.

There are people who would tag Shareef’s spot in the Lakers team as nepotism due to his father’s legendary status with the team. However, Shaq himself isn’t a fan of it and he made sure his son understands it. 

Shaquille O’Neal is not a fan of nepotism

The Big Diesel has coached his children over the years. During one such workout session in 2017, Shareef revealed his father’s teachings. He said, “My dad told me like ‘Just because I’m your dad. Just because you are Shaq’s son, doesn’t mean they are going to give you a spot in the league.’ I always thought because he was my dad I always had it easier. But like my freshman year, I didn’t really play at all. After that, I was in the gym almost every day working hard…”

Shaq didn’t like Shareef’s work ethic and let him know about it. He made sure Shareef understood that the league doesn’t do favors. And he won’t get a spot if he doesn’t deserve it. However, as Shareef said, he had to learn it the hard way.

Being the son of Shaquille O’Neal didn’t land him good minutes in his freshman year. He understood he had to work for it and started working on his craft every day. Shareef also disclosed that he used to hate being in the gym with his father because he is really hard. He also said that Shaq is tougher on his younger brother, Shaqir O’Neal. 

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However, Shareef admitted that his father’s tough love has paid off.