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Shaquille O’Neal claims Shareef O’Neal’s first sentence was “daddy win for me” when he was just 5-6 months old

Akash Murty
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Shaquille O'Neal claims Shareef O'Neal’s first sentence was “daddy win for me” when he was just 5-6 months old

No star kids in the sports community could be as lucky for their parents as the children of Shaquille O’Neal.

Shaq might be one most dominant players in the history of the game, if not the most, but the former 7’1 center is also as emotional a superstar in the game as you would come across.

The Diesel could have had a very tough childhood with his biological father being a drug addict, but his mother and stepfather being as great of a role models as they could have been, made him the man that he is today.

So, O’Neal also wanted to be a dad who could be a perfect role model for his children. The father of five has been that and more. But, in some ways, almost all good things happened in his career were, after or during the birth of all his children.

Also read: “Russell Westbrook was being too nice”: Shaquille O’Neal dishes out reason behind former MVP’s horrid Lakers debut

 

There isn’t a luckier father than Shaquille O’Neal

The 15x All-Star could have been the most dominant of all and still have no title or just a one-off like Wilt Chamberlain had if he hadn’t taken the risk to come to LA despite having a great team in Orlando.

That happened in the 1996 offseason after his first child Taahirah O’Neal was born in July. After four years of struggle and build-up, the future 4x champ won his first one after Shareef was born in January of 2000. And as hilarious a story-maker as Shaq is the TNT analyst on the sets of Inside the NBA one said this.

Jeez! Shareef wasn’t two, he was a mere few months old at the time the Lakers won the 2000 title.

Anyway, Shaq also won his only MVP that season, as well as his first Finals MVP. That year wasn’t the last one where Shaq would find himself lucky to have a child. In fact, it was just the beginning.

His ex-wife Shaunie was with Amirah when The Big Aristotle won his second title with the Purple and Gold in 2001. Amirah proved to be even luckier than Shareef, as, after her birth in November 2001, O’Neal won his third and final title with the Lakers.

It didn’t stop there. His fifth (4th with Shaunie) child, Me’arah was born in May 2006, a couple of months after which Shaq won his 4th and Final title of his career with the Miami Heat.

Also read: 7 ft Shaquille O’Neal hoisted 5’2″ Guillermo on his shoulders in an epic crossover between the two entertainers

Maybe all his children were lucky for him in some way or maybe he took it as an omen and kept going for more children after Shareef proved to be lucky for him.

About the author

Akash Murty

Akash Murty

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An Electrical and Electronics Engineer by degree, Akash Murty is an NBA Editor at The SportsRush. Previously a Software Engineer, Murty couldn’t keep himself away from sports, and his knack for writing and putting his opinion forward brought him to the TSR. A big Soccer enthusiast, his interest in basketball developed late, as he got access to a hoop for the first time at 17. Following this, he started watching basketball at the 2012 Olympics, which transitioned to NBA, and he became a fan of the game as he watched LeBron James dominate the league. Him being an avid learner of the game and ritually following the league for around a decade, he now writes articles ranging from throwbacks, and live game reports, to gossip. LA Lakers are his favourite basketball team, while Chelsea has his heart in football. He also likes travelling, reading fiction, and sometimes cooking.

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