Shaq’s multi-faceted passions are quite evenly divided among his six kids. His eldest daughter, Taahirah, shows a natural inclination for business and he endorses his eldest son, Myles, as a better DJ than himself. His youngest kids are the athletes. But none of them have shown the platinum-selling, athlete-rapper Shaq Diesel shades yet. Little did we know that Shareef came pretty close. But basketball won this round with a little nudge from Shaquille O’Neal.

When asked if he toyed with the idea of something outside basketball, music was at the top of the list, as he revealed on the Then They Rose podcast. “I wanted to be a music producer like pretty recently.” We can picture that. Lyrics and rhymes come easy to Shaq, and Myles is a natural musician himself. What’s another O’Neal-producing beats!

At 18, Shareef was at a crossroads. He went from a promising basketball track at UCLA to delaying his first season due to an anomalous coronary artery diagnosis. He wasn’t sure if he’d keep playing basketball after open heart surgery and started weighing options. So he dabbled in music while recovering.

“After my surgery, I started making music. So I’ll do that,” he said, implying that music is not totally on the back burner. “But I always wanted to play basketball, so I feel like that’s my number one.” But things haven’t gone how he would have hoped for in basketball.

Shareef returned to basketball a year after his surgery. He’d transfer to LSU, go undrafted in the 2022 NBA Draft, and spend a year in the G-League. Although he wasn’t seen on the court in 2023, his latest Instagram posts show he’s training again. There’s also speculation about his return and his dad has a big part to do with it.

Shareef O’Neal’s post-surgery comeback was not centered on music. He was determined to not let his condition hinder his basketball career. And if it meant pursuing pro-ball outside the NBA, he was okay with it.

Shaquille O’Neal kept his son close with a job offer

O’Neal’s son was going to play basketball in Australia this year. However, “things started to change with my family… in a good way.” The big change was Shaquille O’Neal returning to Reebok as the president of basketball operations in October 2023. And he broke the news to Shareef before the world. “We’re sitting. He’s like, ‘Australia’s far. You know you don’t have to go to Australia.’ And I’m like, ‘Yeah.’”

Shareef was set on his Aussie dreams until Shaq told him about his new role at Reebok. Shareef recalled, “He’s like, ‘Can you do me a favor this year? Can you help me rebrand Reebok?'” O’Neal wanted his input in sneaker and apparel design, sign athletes, and help him restore Reebok to his former glory.

24-year-old Shareef was enticed to stay. These days, his social media posts are updates on him helping his dad at Reebok. So his Shaq Diesel career didn’t work out. Regardless, no one better than the Dunkman’s kid to bring back the Shaq Attaq era.