Being a professional basketball player is an ordeal that requires rigorous training from a young age to guarantee success. It is very rare that we come across stories of athletes who picked up the sport late and still attained the highest of heights in the sport.
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While Shaq wasn’t really a late bloomer, as indicated by his achievements from a young age, it would appear the big man wishes he was formally trained at an earlier stage than he actually was. Such a revelation came to light particularly after seeing the access his son Shareef O’Neal had to basketball.
Shaq was a physical anomaly who had grown to reach 6’6 at age 13. And it was arguably O’Neal’s physical gifts that developed into an interest in basketball rather than it being the other way around.
On the other hand, his son Shareef grew up in a world of basketball. Young Shareef had his father, a Hall of Famer, showing him the ropes from the minute he was big enough to hold a basketball. At age 8, Shareef was naturally way ahead of the curve. Something Shaq himself admits to being “jealousy” inducing.
Also read: Watch: 16-year-old Shareef O’Neal Once Impressively Posterized his 7ft 1″ father Shaquille O’Neal
Shaquille O’Neal said Shareef was doing things at eight that he couldn’t do until he was sixteen.
While O’Neal is known for his exaggerations, this might not be too farfetched a thought. The Big Diesel wasn’t privy to elite facilities from a young age and honed his skills over his time at High School and LSU.
Shareef on the other hand had Shaq as his coach and access to world-class facilities since he was a toddler. Naturally, his development at a young age was incomparable to most of his peers.
So much so that even his well-accomplished father was jealous. “My son Shareef is an athlete. I’m very jealous of him. He was doing things on the basketball court at the age of eight that I couldn’t do until I was sixteen years old. I was his coach last summer and we were undefeated. He’s very very funny and very sensitive. Sound like anyone you know?” described O’Neal of Shareef’s development as a basketball player and a man in Shaq Uncut.
At the time, Shareef was also on his path to NBA stardom. But health issues have complicated matters and what appeared a sure bet for NBA stardom seems an unlikely long shot now.
The early development and Shaq’s talk weren’t misleading factors. Shareef was indeed a highly recruited and rated prospect growing up. But a heart issue that required surgery fully derailed Shaq’s son from his path to greatness.
Shareef, now 23, is a member of the NBA G League Ignite team.
Despite his setbacks, Shareef is still battling it out among pros. Considering how the right anomalous coronary artery which he was diagnosed with could have led to the end of his athletic career, it goes to show Shareef’s determination that he is still fighting to get himself a place in the NBA.
And while it may be a long shot, weirder things have certainly happened. After flashing glimpses of potential in the Summer League and the G League, Reef certainly is on the radar again.
With Shaq vouching for his funny and sensitive personality too, we might see a lot more of young Shareef going ahead. One certainly hopes there is a fairy tale ending to the young man’s once-promising basketball career. The progression of which even got his famous father envious at one point.
