Shaquille O’Neal has six children—three sons and three daughters—born between 1996 and 2006. And like most fathers, O’Neal has been more protective of the girls, especially when it came to dating. While some consider it a double standard, the big fella insists it comes from a place of love. Taahirah, Shaq’s oldest daughter, seems to have experienced her father’s overprotectiveness more than anyone else.
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Shareef and Shaqir may be the most well-known children in the O’Neal family, but none of Shaq’s children has spent more time with him than Taahirah. The 28-year-old, who works as a communications associate analyst for PepsiCo, shared an Instagram story revealing a funny conversation she had with her Hall of Fame father.
Despite being an adult with a life of her own, she faced the same marriage conversation most youngsters invariably have to indulge in with their parents. Shaq brought up the “chat” with Taahirah “out of the blue.”
“Why my father just call me out the blue and say, ‘You need to marry a lawyer,'” she wrote. Taahirah then questioned Shaq why he was saying so. “Because you like to argue,” the 53-year-old responded snarkily.
Taahirah expressed her response to her father’s roast in the form of a GIF at the bottom of the IG story. Shaq has never been one to hold back his thoughts, so this sounds exactly like something the four-time champion would say.
Nah Shaq pic.twitter.com/RROo9iqIUg
— What are (W)NBA Celebs Upto? (@NBACelebsUpdate) April 15, 2025
O’Neal always has a say, especially when it comes to something as serious as his children’s futures. On The Big Podcast, Shaq once revealed the strict dating policy he had in his home. It was clearly a serious topic for him.
“Don’t bring no boys to my house unless you got a master’s. I don’t want to see them at all,” Shaq said. He did not reveal if he had a similar set of rules for his sons.
It appears that Shaq wants his children and their future spouses to be serious about education. All good parents would want the best for their child, be it relationships or career choices.
Shaq has made his mistakes, but it’s nice to see how much he cares for his family and wants his children to do well in life.
The NBA legend still has two more daughters to worry about in 17-year-old Me’arah and 22-year-old Amirah. So he has pressing concerns to address other than the dating life of 28-year-old Taahirah.
It’s apparent that the big fella cares deeply about the future of all his daughters and wants them all to end up in a lasting and happy relationship and careers.
