The O’Neal dynasty will have continuity. Shaquille, in a career that spanned 19 seasons, is an ultimate legend, as all of his stats attest: 4-time NBA Champion, 5-time Finalist, 2-time Leading Scorer and included among the 75 best players in history, the former center of Magic, Lakers, Heat, Suns, Cavs and Celtics was known for the great dominance he exerted in the NBA at the beginning of the 21st century, his tumultuous and ultimately historic relationship with Kobe Bryant and his successes on court. Shaq retired in 2011 and now, more than 10 years later, it seems that he will have descendants in the best League in the world. And one that, according to him, promises.
Shaq married Shaunie in 2002, the year in which he won the third of his rings with the Lakers. He was married to her until 2011 and had 6 children: Shareef, Shaquir, Taahirah, Me’arah, Myles By Amirah. The first of them, Shareef, may have a great future ahead of him and his intention is to play, like his father before him, in the NBA. And, although in his university career he is having the odd setback related to injuries, his father assures that he is going to be an absolutely generational player, being also another of the heirs of his particular lineage, just as the children of LeBron James or Dwayne Wade are of theirs.
“What people don’t know is that I have a Giannis Antetokounmpo, but with a jump shot“, assures Shaquille in statements collected by the Lakers Daily portal. “That’s how I’ve raised it. The problem is that people don’t know. I hope he can go to a place where he can show off his talent so people can see who he really is.”, adds the center, who seeks to relaunch his son’s career with his words. As a curiosity, the young player was, like his father, very close to Kobe Bryant and after the death of the Black Mamba he honored him with a couple of tattoos: on one of his legs you can see that he has the silhouette of Kobe doing a jump shot with the number 8 jersey and with the words Black Maba; in the other, it has the phrase Mamba Mentality with 2 and the name of Gianna, second daughter of Kobe’s marriage to Vanessa and also deceased in the unfortunate helicopter accident on January 26, 2020.
Shaq’s eldest son, Shareef, is on the NCAA transfer portal (competition that ended its particular Final Four last night with Kansas beating North Carolina) after spending two seasons with the Tigers from Louisiana State University. Before that, he was in the Bruins from UCLA. In none of those places did he have a special role, but his father believes that he can succeed in the NBA and that he has the qualities to do so. He has been compared to none other than Giannis Antetokounmpo, a two-time NBA champion.. Big words for a future that, for Shaq, could be bright. We will see.
