Having Shaquille O’Neal as your father may open a lot of doors but also room for criticism from fans, analysts, coaches, and even scouts. Shareef and Shaqir O’Neal dealt with that early during their basketball careers. And now, Me’arah O’Neal is taking her father’s legacy ahead but not without its own set of challenges, including listening to her father’s taunts during her training.
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As per the video by ESPN, Shaquille O’Neal once told Me’arah, “Pressure makes diamonds.” Me’arah inculcated that in her training by putting more pressure on herself to come out more like a diamond. And the Big Aristotle sure did his part by constantly taunting her to create that environment.
“When I told her things that you’re not supposed to say in society, she would get mad. ‘Can’t play the boys, you’re a girl. You can’t play, you’re too little. You’re not that good, you’re brother’s way better than you.’ And I see, some people when they get angry, they lash out. But she always had that, ‘Okay, Imma show you.’ And that’s exactly what I wanted.”
Growing up with two brothers who were already trying to follow in their father’s footsteps, Me’arah wasn’t just compared to her father but also to Shareef and Shaqir O’Neal who took up basketball. But as a father, Shaquille O’Neal wanted Me’arah to excel in the game he dominated for years in the NBA.
At the start of the video, a snippet from Shaq’s Hall of Fame induction speech was included where the four-time NBA champion could be heard saying, “I don’t like to put pressure on my babies but she works out with my sons and I think it’s fair to say that one day, if she continues, Me’arah will probably be the best woman’s basketball player ever.”
Hearing those words from your father who was just inducted into the Hall of Fame, that too at a nimble age of 10, Me’arah took that as motivation. The youngest daughter of the Los Angeles Lakers legend always had a target on her back due to her father’s legacy.
If the hard-nosed competition from opposing players was not enough then playing alongside her brothers and hearing her father taunt her only added fuel to the fire that led Me’arah to work out and train harder to prove her father wrong; something that Shaq had hoped would happen in the first place.
Shaquille O’Neal’s daughter is entirely different on the floor
Me’arah O’Neal followed in her brother Shareef O’Neal’s footsteps as she joined Crossroads School in Santa Monica, California. Me’arah played all 24 games for the team and averaged 5.3 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 4.7 APG, and 2.5 BPG while leading her team to a 19-5 record and the state quarterfinals.
She ended her high school career with Episcopal High School in Houston as a senior post player for the team. After her high school days, Me’arah decided to commit to the Florida Gators against following her father’s legacy at LSU.
Regardless of where she committed, Me’arah has all the talents to become the next best thing in women’s basketball. In the video, her high school coach mentioned Me’arah had an unlimited range from beyond the arc, while also slyly adding, “She can make free throws.”
As for the pressure she faces daily, Shaunie Henderson mentioned that it was not the same pressure an average person would have to deal with, yet she handled it extremely well. After her high school career, all eyes are going to be on Me’arah and the Florida Gators to see if she has it in her to become the next big thing in women’s basketball.
