Shaquille O’Neal might have been a busy man for most of his life, courtesy of his pro basketball career and later as a TV pundit, but the NBA Hall of Famer certainly did a commendable job raising his son, Shareef. And for any father, the greatest acknowledgment of their positive parenting can only come from their own child. Luckily for Shaq, he has no issues in the department.
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Shareef, not unlike his siblings, doesn’t shy away from talking about Shaq and his mother Shaunie’s influence on their lives. The Stockton Kings forward did so again by reflecting on the lessons he has learned in his short career with Bill Dooley and credited both his parents for being real mentors who helped him reach a position where he can thrive professionally and personally.
Shaq and Shaunie notably separated in 2011, after a bit of a public fallout, which later also involved controversial interviews and memoirs, but the former power couple never dropped the ball on their kids. Shaunie, interestingly, had revealed that it took a long time for the pair to become good co-parents.
“It was not an easy journey, but once we got there and we felt comfortable being honest with each other and sharing what was going on in our personal lives to a certain extent, because a lot of it is, you know, none of our business. It’s none of my business what he does. Same with him. And I think we both respect that,“ she told Tamron Hall in 2021.
She had also asserted that if either of them did take any relationship to the “next level”, they would let each other know and support it in the best way they could.
It should be noted, however, that when Shaunie eventually got engaged to Pastor Keion Henderson in 2021, Shaq wasn’t particularly thrilled about being left in the dark.
“But eventually he came around. He’s met Keion, and he’s respectful. We are doing very well again. We can be parents to our kids, cordial to each other, and live our own lives. I call that a win,” she had revealed back then.
This mutual respect and admiration for each other seem to have helped them raise a fine gentleman in Shareef, who is more than happy to give both his parents their flowers, but especially credits his mom for being there for him all the time.
“I would say my parents, first off the main two mentors I had. My mom, I would say, it was my mom. She was at every game, every practice, everything. So I would say, it was her.”
Shareef also shared his experience playing pro basketball with the younger generation of aspirational ballers, asserting that if there was a time to have fun, it was now.
Pro basketball doesn’t forgive mistakes, claims Shareef
Shareef talked about his fondest memory of playing high school ball for the Crossroads School in Santa Monica, California, where he was a two-year varsity letterwinner.
“My favorite memory of playing high school ball, I would say, was winning the State Championship my senior year (2017-2018). That was probably the best high school memory I had.”
In the same vein, he also asked high school students looking at a long basketball career to understand that things were only going to get tougher from this point on.
“I always say, have your fun now in high school while you can, because in college you can’t make as many mistakes. Pros, you can’t make as many mistakes. So whatever fun you want to have, have it now, but make sure you do it on a serious level and learn your game early, I would say.”
Speaking from memories of his own escapades, he added, “Probably a big thing for me. I learned my own strengths, my weaknesses when I was early. Stuck with that throughout college and pros. I feel like that’s what helped me.”
“I wasn’t out there doing things I wasn’t used to doing in high school. So have your fun now. Practice what you know and find your strengths and weaknesses. That’s my advice,” Shareef shared.
Now, advice is only as good as the person taking it. So, if there’s a kid out there looking to the stars, they would do well to take notes.
