NBA legend Shaquille O?Neal has two children who have followed in their father?s footsteps and joined the world of basketball. While his daughter is on her way to join the same team as Angel Reese, Shaq?s son is currently establishing himself as a prominent power forward for the NBA G League Ignite. Living under the shadow of his father?s glory, Shaq’s son is trying hard to get out of it and make a name for himself.

Five years after receiving the news that would change his life, the 23-year-old up and comer opens up about the same during an interview.

Shaquille O’Neal stayed by his son’s side during surgery

Back in 2018, Shareef had to undergo open heart surgery. This was a result of having being diagnosed with a ?right anomalous coronary artery?, an ailment that has, in previous cases, led to heart failure and sudden death.

The surgery had the player on bedrest for 18 months, because of which he couldn?t even shoot a basketball, let alone practice.

Despite having been separated a long time ago, both Shaquille O?Neal and his ex-wife Shaunie were by their son?s side to support him during the most troubling time. Shaunie described how while the recovery was the easiest part, it left the young athlete restless as he wanted to return to the world of basketball soon, according to the LA times.

The 6-foot-9 forward was eventually cleared and allowed to return to the court in March 2019.

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Shareef was recently a guest on an episode of the podcast Now For Later with Eric Mika and spoke about the unfortunate incident and his recovery.

Shareef got scared because of what happened to NFL star Damar Hamlin

Shareef described his process of getting back on track with his workout routine. Even now, the player develops a little fear if anything out there reminds him of what he went through. “Even still today, to this day. You saw me during that one situation this season when the whole thing happened with Damar Hamlin,” said Shareef when talking about the reason preventing him from returning to the court.

Damar Hamlin is a player for the Buffalo Bills. On the 2 of January 2023, during a game against the Cincinnati Bengals, Hamlin collapsed after having tackled an opponent. After about four minutes of administering treatment on the field, Hamlin was placed in an ambulance and taken to a hospital, where the player was diagnosed to be in critical condition.

Touching upon the subject, the host knew that Shareef avoided playing at least one game after what happened to the Bills Player. This led to the next question: What did he do to be able to bounce back?

The basketball player described calling his athletic trainer, Pete. Trying to calm him down, Pete said that he was going to call his surgeon and let him talk to Shareef. After a game, Pete assured him that what happened to Damar Hamlin was a rare occurrence.

?Hearing him talk to me, you know, that just completely wiped it out,? said Shareef. Shareef’s parents were aware of the impact that the NFL incident had on his mind.

“My parents did a very good job in just letting me decide what I wanted to do and, you know, how I wanted to take the rest of my time,”?said Shareef.

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Well, fortunately, it seems the faster something can remind Shareef O’Neal of the heart surgery, the quicker he can forget about it by going back to the court!