Shaquille O’Neal used ‘dad jokes’ on 18-year-old son Shareef O’Neal before life altering heart surgery

Shaquille O’Neal’s son Shareef O’Neal had heart surgery, and the former NBA star kept things light by cracking jokes for him.

Shaquille O’Neal is widely regarded as one of the greatest basketball players of all time. Shareef, his eldest son, is now attempting to follow in his footsteps.

The Los Angeles Lakers legend recently weighed in on his son’s NBA prospects.

O’Neal’s sense of humor is as well-known as his dominance on the court, and he recently used it to help calm his 18-year-old son’s nerves before a life-saving surgery.

Shaq and Shareef 🤣 pic.twitter.com/ICQNLPtH8F

— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) August 1, 2022

O’Neal’s son, Shareef O’Neal, sat out his freshman season on the UCLA men’s basketball team after discovering a heart condition.

“I recently discovered that I had a serious heart condition.” “I consider myself extremely fortunate to be alive today,” Shareef wrote on Instagram. “On the court, one of those moments could have been my last.”

“This is just a minor hiccup in the road, and I have to push through it,” he continued. “I’m very depressed about not being able to participate in [the] sport I enjoy.” I really wanted this year, and I felt like I was performing at my peak, but this is only a minor setback… My health is more important than anything else.”

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Shaquille O’Neal reveals the joke he told his son before he underwent Heart surgery

During a recent interview on the Dan Patrick Show, O’Neal discussed Shareef’s surgery and how he tried to comfort his son in the moments before he went into surgery.

“He was terrified. “You know, I always told myself that it’s stories that calm me down and get me to the next level,” O’Neal said. “So he was scared right before the surgery, and he had a little tear in his eye.”

“I told him he should be,” said O’Neal. “However, when you enter that room, you’ll meet a young lady named ‘Ana Sthesia,’ and you’ll forget everything!”

“Her name is ‘Ana Sthesia,’ and she’s going to kiss you,” he laughed, “and then you’ll wake up and everything will be fine.”

Shareef awoke with no recollection of what had happened, just as his father had predicted. Shareef felt more confident that he would be able to get through it because O’Neal had gone through 10 surgeries himself.

“I try to stay out of his way & let him figure it out.”

–@SHAQ on the advice he passes along to his son, Shareef O’Neal, as he blazes his own path to the NCAA. #BeyondThePaint pic.twitter.com/H72pq4N3uy

— NBA TV (@NBATV) January 18, 2018

Following the surgery, Shareef took to Twitter and posted a photo of himself in the hospital bed.

“I made it, thank you for all your love and support!” he tweeted. “I really appreciate all of your thoughts and prayers; they were instrumental in getting me through this surgery.” I’m on the mend, and I’ll be back soon… better than ever.

Shareef, according to Shaq, is a better shooter and runner than him. He also said Shareef’s body was better than his.

Shaq believes that his son must want to play in the NBA and develop a crazy passion for the game.

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