Shaquille O’Neal has revealed something about his youngest son Shaqir O’Neal that would surprise NBA fans. As we all know, Shaq is considered by many to be an NBA legend and one of the most unstoppable players that the league has ever seen.
We already know that his son Shareef has tried his hand in the NBA G League and Summer League. However, not much is known about Shaqir and his interests in life. It might not surprise fans to find out that Shaqir is also interested in trying to be an NBA player.
Since there is no better fountain of knowledge on the subject than his own father, Shaqir has been putting in work outside the public eye. Let us take a look at what Shaq has to say on the subject.
Shaqir O’Neal is living with Shaquille O’Neal in order to get to the next level
Although Shaq’s children have ideal genes and resources to dominate the game of basketball, that does not necessarily mean that they are one-and-done future NBA prospects who can turn into superstars in the league as their father did. After all, his son Shareef has already been struggling to make it to the NBA despite being given multiple opportunities.
Unlike Shareef, his brother Shaqir never went through any serious medical issues or required surgery. He also displayed a genuine interest in taking his game to the next level. Therefore, Shaq decided to take Shaqir under his wing and train him. O’Neal later revealed how this process felt.
“Shaqir has come to live with me because I’m the guy that can get him to the next level. We have a gym in the house…Teach him how to do things. Also teach him how to be a leader.”
Shaq went on to share that he would even remind Shaqir and his other children about his own illustrious NBA career and resume, “Next time y’all shoot an airball y’all lose a point…Imma Hall of Famer you’re not. I got 4 rings, you ain’t got 4 rings so it don’t matter.”
While O’Neal’s taunting might be unnecessary, He shared that his similarity to Shaqir allowed him to engage in those kinds of acts and simply be himself, “The time we spend together is on the basketball court and Shaquir is me so I can turn up the volume a little…You know as far as us creating a really close bond, it only happened on the basketball court.”
Upon hearing Shaq compare Shaqir to himself, we can’t help but set high expectations for him. We hope that he is able to achieve success and play at the highest level like his father once did.
