“I’ve always been a leader,” said Shaquille O’Neal once. And his leadership skills have been quite visible both on the teams that he has played for and even on his kids. Whether it’s following his footsteps on the hardwood like Shareef, Shaqir, or Me’Arah or carving their own entrepreneurial paths like Taahirah, Shaq’s kids are making their mark. However, one of them has created a buzz by breaking from tradition in a way few expected.

Taahirah and Shareef were both present during the recent Complex Con event. At the event, Taahirah took a moment to capture a video for her Instagram story while pointing at her brother, saying, “Guys, look at Shareef O’Neal!” However, Shareef refused to engage once he realized it was destined for Instagram. “This is on your Instagram? Okay, I’m not gonna talk to you or anything,” said Shareef. This amusing sibling moment comes shortly after Shareef named LeBron James as his GOAT (and not his father) in a TikTok video—a choice that had fans buzzing.

LeBron James and Shaquille O’Neal are both NBA legends, but they represent two different eras. A four-time NBA champion and four-time MVP, James has career averages of 27.1 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 7.4 assists per game. Younger generations, like Shareef, choose him because of the way he can adapt and be good at so many positions.

On the other hand, we can see Shaquille O’Neal with four NBA championships and three Finals MVPs. His dominance was primarily confined to the paint, and his 23.7 points, 10.9 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game reflect his unmatched physicality, but his free-throw struggles and limited perimeter play may weigh on modern perceptions of greatness.

Now coming to Shareef, the 6’10” forward faced significant setbacks early on, including a heart condition that required surgery in 2018 during his college years at UCLA. Despite this hurdle, Shareef persevered, later transferring to LSU, his father’s alma mater. In 2022, Shareef showcased his potential in the NBA Summer League, playing for the Ignite team where he averaged 4.5 PPG—a team closely tied to both his father’s and LeBron James’ legacies. Back in October, he signed with the Sacramento Kings to join their G League affiliate, the Stockton Kings.

“I’m so proud of you @shareefoneal I can’t even talk about this without crying. I know this was always your goal and the odds you beat to finally see it happen is beyond amazing… I know you had some doubtful days but you consistently pushed through. This is so much bigger than basketball,” wrote Shaunie in an Instagram post.

The event that Taahirah and Shareef were present at was hosted by Complex, a media platform renowned for its influence on youth culture, streetwear, sneakers, music, and art, and hosted many celebrities, like Travis Scott, Snoop Dogg, and Playboi Carti. Now although we don’t know why Shareef didn’t choose his father as is GOAT, but we can speculate this to be a reason.

When Shareef had to bump heads with his father

Shaq’s entry into the NBA in 1992 was as legendary as it could have been. Shaq was drafted as the No. 1 pick for the Orlando Magic and quickly became one of the most dominant forces anyone had ever seen in the league. Naturally, he envisioned a carefully crafted career path for his son, Shareef O’Neal, one that wouldn’t involve rushing into the NBA draft. But it seems like Shareef had other plans.

In 2022 when Shareef went to the Los Angeles Lakers facility for a pre-draft workout, the young power forward admitted that his father was not on his side with this. “We kind of bump heads about this process. He wanted me to stay in school. I wanted to better myself through this. He knows I’m working out with teams. But I’m not going to lie, we ain’t talked about this. I’m kind of just going through it. He didn’t do any pre-draft workouts; he just got straight on the [Orlando Magic], so it’s a different grind,” Shareef O’Neal said in a news conference as per ESPN.

This year as mentioned before, Shareef got the chance to play in the league like his father when he was selected by the Sacramento Kings but he was quickly moved to the G-League team Stockton Kings as part of an Exhibit-10 deal. While his path has been unconventional, Shareef is determined to chart his own course, even if it means clashing with his father.