Shaunie Henderson is known to NBA Circle for co-parenting 5 children with Shaquille O’Neal since their divorce in 2011. On social media, this motherhood often channels cheers for her children on-court, with her latest post on celebrating Shaqir and Me’arah O’Neal simultaneously in the spotlight. As for Shareef O’Neal, her firstborn with Shaq, she has been emotional on IG about him being signed for the Kings, even though it turned out to be futile. Now that she celebrates her 50th birthday on 11/27, his responses for her Big Day matters.

The celebrations began with the Basketball Wives star herself sharing her stunning photographs and a special video on her IG account. While the posts got shares and comments from Shaqir, Me’arah, and Amirah, Shareef made it special by unearthing memories which include the ‘Big O’Neal‘. Craving for some insights into this IG story?

It is a photograph from their framed collections from whence they were a 4 member family. So it includes O’Neal, Shaunie, Shareef, and presumably Myles O’Neal. Another highlight of this captured moment includes the ‘Superman‘ logo in the background. Considering Shareef’s birth on January 11, 2000, and the couple’s third baby, Amirah, by November 13, 2001, the picture could be from around early 2001. Almost two eventful decades with three more childbirths and the culmination of a 7-year marriage for the couple have passed since then. Here is a cue to explore her current relations with ‘Shaq Daddy‘.

Despite a failed wedlock credited to ‘The Big Aristotle’s’ infidelity, the first lady of the LH Church and 4xNBA champion continues a warm relationship. This is evident from her 2021 Tamron Hall Show appearance, where she confessed to their ongoing camaraderie: “I think we both support each other. I used to tease him and be like, ‘Could you please hurry up and get a wife? And then you could stop, you know, randomly Face Timing me and talking about your day? Like … get a girlfriend or something.” 

However, since Shaquille O’Neal hasn’t made any public greetings so far, it will be worth digging into Henderson’s role with Shareef that triggered such memories on her special day.

Motherhood at its epitome

“I’m so proud of you @shareefoneal I can’t even talk about this without crying,” wrote Henderson on IG. This was part of an overwhelming emotion she left unchecked while celebrating her son getting enlisted with the Sacramento Kings. While O’Neal’s ex-wife was expressive when it came to her other children, the struggles of her first seed with ‘Big Shamrock‘, since the 2018 UCLA incident, intensified their bonding. 

This warrants looking at her IG post from the day Shareef had his open heart surgery: “This morning was by far my toughest moment being a Mom. If only I could take his place today. Could I at least go with him in that operating room and hold his hand. Separating from him as he was wheeled off to surgery was heartbreaking. THATS MY BABY! I don’t care how old, how big, how grown my kids get I still want to protect them. I had no control over any of this. But there is a God, I trust and believe He is in there with my baby right now and has complete control. #prayforreef 🙏🏽❤️ @shareefoneal #mybaby.”

What she went through as a mother likely enhanced her affection for this 24-year-old son. Shareef felt an equal emotion as he went through the process. This is evident as Henderson recollects the day they heard the tragic news of his illness: “I held my boy and let him cry, and I cried with him for what felt like forty-five minutes.”

Moments like this could have made Shareef take a long memory lane while cheering for Shaunie.