Shaquille O’Neal’s youngest daughter, Me’arah O’Neal has steadily risen as one of the best basketball talents. She ranked 33 among the top 100 high school prospects for the class of 2024 and will make her college debut for Florida Gators during the upcoming NCAA season.
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During an appearance on ESPN 98.1 FM’s bi-weekly show The Sports Lab, she talked about how playing alongside her brothers, Shaqir O’Neal, and Shareef O’Neal helped her rise as the third-best prospect in Texas.
Host Miguel Molina asked her if having a basketball family eased her hoops journey. Me’arah admitted that it was indeed the case. He then brought up a quote from her brother Shareef, who in February praised her for being the most talented basketball player in the O’Neal family.
Building upon that, Molina then asked her about the role of the brothers in honing her skills. The 18-year-old accepted that playing against them from a young age made her stronger. Their fierce attitude and competitive fervor meant that she couldn’t take it easy on the basketball floor which bode well in the long run. It gave her an upper hand over other girls who weren’t facing similar levels of physicality.
“You know boys. They are aggressive at that age so playing with them definitely made me play a little more different than other girls. And just being around them all the time, they are very caring, fun to be around.”
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Like their sister, 6’10” Shareef, and 6’6” Shaqir too have pro-hoops dreams. Shareef was on his way to becoming a stellar NBA-level talent before a rare heart condition curbed his dreams. He played for G-League Ignite after a four-year college career.
Meanwhile, her youngest brother Shaqir spent three seasons with Texas Southern Tigers but tallied fewer than 2 points per game. He recently transferred to Florida A&M to finish his NCAA career. But his chances to make the NBA look negligible. However, Me’arah can fulfill her WNBA dreams.
Shaq’s daughter has already drawn a lot of intrigue
As a 6’3″ Center, Me’aarah lives in the paint like her father. Her game resembles Shaq more than any other sibling. In February, she led her Episcopal High School team to a 66-54 win in the final of the Southwest Preparatory Conference Class 4A girls tournament.
She led the way with 28 points despite the defense focusing mostly on her. As a result of such performances, she was selected for the 2024 All-American McDonald’s game.
Her Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) value have seen a huge increase. Shaunie Henderson wants her daughter to make full use of her NIL deals during her potentially four-year college career as the base salary in WNBA is still in five figures, while NIL deals can shoot up to millions.
In February, Shaq’s ex-wife told TMZ, “For the women, for sure, hold on to your college career and NIL money. The more I look into it, the more I see these WNBA players are doing multiple things just to make that kinda money… I think those college students who are able to get these NIL deals, ride it until the wheels fall off!”
Me’arah’s mother also expressed that she wanted her daughter to have numbers like Angel Reese. Shaunie further added, “If she can hold on to that NIL money and be in college and get a great education along with playing the sport she loves, then why not?!” Me’arah’s WNBA prospects will depend upon her college career.
