Shaquille O’Neal and Shaunie Henderson parted ways more than a decade ago. However, they never let that affect their children growing up. Things did get out of hand back in 2018, though. A young Shareef was in huge trouble during his time at UCLA, where he was diagnosed with a heart condition. The now 23-year-old had to undergo open heart surgery, which understandably led to a tense situation in the O’Neal household. A brave Shareef overcame the surgery. However, it seems like the fear never left or will never leave. 

Just a day before LeBron James’ son, Bronny, had a cardiac arrest, Shareef decided to share the aftermath of the surgery in a podcast. This might be something the James family will have to face soon!

Shareef O’Neal reveals the fear after surgery

Athletes face several setbacks on their road to the league. Yet, nothing comes close to what 18-year-old Shareef had to go through. However, even the open heart surgery did not stop him from stepping back on the court. This bravery must be appreciated but the scenario was different when it came to Shaq and Shaunie.

Shareef was a guest on the ‘Now For Later with Eric Mika‘ podcast recently. The son of the NBA Hall of Famer revealed, “I feel like both my parents did a good job by letting me decide. Whatever I said, they’re gonna be on board. They never said they are scared for me to play, coz I think they knew it will scare me.”

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Ultimately, Shareef admitted, “They for sure were,” when asked if his parents were scared. The comeback story of Shareef is an inspiration for many. In the same podcast, the former LSU star shared the steps he took to recover from the surgery to get back on the court. 

Shareef added in the podcast, “Learned about my body more. Learned about how my heart works. What’s good, what certain movements or activities make it work more and what doesn’t….” Anyhow, there was a bigger force that made Shareef get back on the court!

What pushed Shareef to return to basketball even with a weak heart? 

Just like his dad, Shaq’s son had only one thing on his mind. The NBA. Shareef shared in another interview, “I have always wanted to play in the NBA. Even when I got my surgery like, I still told myself one day I’m gonna get on the NBA floor.”

“Like even though at times I didn’t feel like I was gonna be able to play basketball again like I had to kinda trick myself.” Last year, the youngster also got a chance to play for the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Summer League. 

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