A proud father of six, Shaquille O’Neal has always said that he wants his kids to explore career options outside of basketball. However, Shaqir O’Neal is too gifted physically to put his energy elsewhere. In his 2011 memoir, Shaq Uncut, the NBA legend boasted about Shaqir’s ferociousness and confessed that it resembles that of his old man.
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In terms of athletic abilities, Shaq believes that Shaqir is similar to Shareef O’Neal, his 24-year-old son. What separates the two is that Shareef is a typical ‘good guy’ whereas Shaq’s youngest son is “mean” like the big fella.
He wrote, “My youngest son, Shaqir, has many of the same athletic qualities as Shareef, but he’s my mean, ferocious guy.”
Shaq revealed in his book that he inherited the “fiery streak” from his father and has passed it down to his 21-year-old son, “He’s got that fiery streak in him that both my father and I have.”
The four-time NBA Champion also recalled the moment when he realized that Shaqir was his twin. “One day my mom came over and Shaqir did something crazy, and she put her fork down and said, ‘That’s you [Shaq] right there, boy,’” Shaq wrote. The affirmation coming from Mama O’Neal was all he needed to call Shaqir his “twin.” He added, “So I tell Shaqir he’s my twin.”
Shaq is widely regarded as the most dominant player of all time. The “fiery streak” that he sees in Shaqir is what propelled him to a Hall of Fame stature. Needless to say, Shaq has been a huge inspiration for his son, but Shaqir wants to do much more than just play basketball.
Shaquille O’Neal’s son wants to play in the NBA
During a 2022 interview with Forbes, Shaqir was asked about his plans for the future. He said that for now, his only focus is to make it into the league. But after that, he will also explore other things, “When I’m ready, I want to make it to the league and play professional basketball.”
The 21-year-old added that he also plans to be involved in the world of fashion and modeling. He said, “For the future, I always plan to be involved in fashion, modeling, and basketball.”
Taking a page out of his father’s book, Shaqir also wants to invest money and build companies that will work toward making an impact on society.
“I want to invest the money I make and get involved with companies that will impact communities, give back, and impact lives for the better,” he added. Shaq has always been a strong believer in giving back to the society. Based on the 21-year-old’s answer, Shaqir is his twin in more ways than one.
