It’s not easy being Shaquille O’Neal’s children, but they seem to have fared quite well. Among his three daughters and three sons, only few have chosen to carry forward their father’s legacy in the literal sense—his oldest two, Taahirah and Myles, have taken up marketing and modeling respectively. Shareef, on the other hand, was and Amirah is a player at LSU (same as their father), Shaqir is at Florida A&M, while the youngest daughter Me’arah currently plays for the Florida Gators. In fact, Me’arah recently turned heads with her performance if it wasn’t for the heartbreaking hiccup she faced…

The impressive Freshman Guard who kickstarted with 7 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 blocks in the season now faces a turn of events. 

It is in the Gators-Miami Hurricanes game where the former took its first fall of the season by 83-73. Regardless of getting close by 3 points twice in the third quarter, the Gators, led by Jeriah Warren on the offense with 25 points and 4 steals and Ra Shaya Kyle on defense with a double-double of 14 points and 8 rebounds, couldn’t beat the opponents. Me’arah misfortune was further catapulted by an injury.

Eight minutes into the first quarter, 18-year-old Miami’s Natalija Marshall was going for a layup when she made contact with the 18-year-old’s face with her elbow. O’Neal immediately went down with her hands on her face, and the contact was declared an ‘intentional foul’. Two free throws were given to the Gators. Unfortunately, Me’arah exited the court playing for just three minutes, going scoreless and limiting her stat line to zero. 

The young O’Neal started alongside Kenza Salgues, Liv McGill, Warren, and Kyle. As opposed to Me’arah, the rest of the starters had over 30 minutes, allowing them to score in two digits. Given the challenge posed by the first half where the Gators averaged only 37.9 percent shooting from the field, it is a surprising exit for the 6’4″ UF Star given her past milestones. 

While this turns out to be her first setback with the Gators, the record so far is promising for the third-best prospect in Texas for the class of 2024. The words of her pops, the 4x NBA Champion, could be recollected here: “I think it’s fair to say one day if she continues, Me’Arah will probably be the best women’s basketball player ever. She’s that good.”

In the four games that the Episcopal recruit has played so far, let aside her strong start. She was pivotal in the twice over-century leap of Gators. The 102-67 win against the Florida A&M Rattlers had her contribute 6 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists. The Gators-Cougars game that followed saw her career high with 18 points and 8 rebounds and placed her third in-game leaders.

When it comes to efficiency, the primary concern this time for starters, she previously shot 8 of 12 from the field and 2-3 from beyond the arc which is comparable with Warren and McGill’s. Well, quite a remarkable journey, one can say. But did you know reaching here was not so easy…

To continue or not continue a legacy?

Last year, Me’arah was struck with a weird dilemma. She had already started following in the footsteps of her old man picking up basketball, ranked no. 33 in the 2024 recruiting class. However, would she choose Shaq’s alma mater, LSU, or create her own path? In the end, she decided to choose the Florida Gators—the LSU’s long-time nemesis.

But if you ask the 52-year-old, there’s no love lost at all. In a conversation with The Los Angeles Times, Shaquille O’Neal said, “I’m happy. I’ve never been the parent to be like, follow your father’s footsteps. I try to convince them that the pressure that they’re gonna get because of my last name doesn’t really exist. I try to teach them that pressure’s when you don’t know where your next meal’s coming from. It’s their job to be kids, educate themselves and have fun. 

I’m more happy that she got a scholarship to a great university like the University of Florida and in four years if things are done correctly she’ll have her bachelor’s degree. That’s what I’m more excited about.”

In another conversation, the NBA icon said, “What I did tell her is, ‘Go where you’re needed, not where you’re wanted,'” he said, “because if you go where you’re wanted and they got other people like you, may take a while.’ I want [my kids] to have their own journey, have their own experience.”

But what pushed Me’arah to deviate from the path everyone expected her to follow? Well, in the youngster’s own words to ESPN, “I went on the Florida visit, and I had a feeling that’s where I belonged, and that I was going to be most successful if I went to go play at Florida. I felt like I connected with Coach Kelly [Rae Finely] more than I connected with any of the other schools that recruited me. She really cares about me not just on the court but off the court. That’s important for me.”

Having said that, for now, with the next FU game against Florida State this Saturday, all eyes will be on the teenager and gracefully she bounces back. Are you excited?