*Shareef O’Neal, the 24-year-old son of NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal and reality star Shaunie Henderson, has signed with the Sacramento Kings.
As the JasmineBrand reports, he previously played for NBA G League Ignite during the 2022-23 season. It’s expected he’ll join the Kings’ G League affiliate, the Stockton Kings. There’s also a chance he could earn a two-way contract with Sacramento if he performs well with the affiliate team.
“I’m so proud of you @shareefoneal I can’t even talk about this without crying. I know this was always your goal and the odds you beat to finally see it happen is beyond amazing,” wrote Shaunie in a message to her son on Instagram.
She added, “I prayed that you would never give up, that you wouldn’t be discouraged. I know you had some doubtful days but you consistently pushed through. This is so much bigger than basketball.”
In the comments to The Jasmine Brand’s post on Instagram, one user wrote, “Shaq and Lebron paving the way for their kids is dope,” while another joked, “On the next season of Basketball Wives…Jackie Christie..”Shaunie knows me and Doug made that happen for her family.”
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Today’s glimpse into Kings practice in Sacramento shows Doug McDermott getting acclimated to his new team, Shareef O’Neal participating in practice and Skal Labissiere in practice before he was waived shortly after. pic.twitter.com/KdC8hmHAqO
— Sean Cunningham (@SeanCunningham) October 18, 2024
Sports reporter Cunningham posted a short video of Shareef with the team, along with the caption: “Today’s glimpse into Kings practice in Sacramento shows Doug McDermott getting acclimated to his new team, Shareef O’Neal participating in practice and Skal Labissiere in practice before he was waived shortly after.” Watch via the X/Twitter clip above.
At 18, Shareef was diagnosed with a congenital heart condition, a right anomalous coronary artery, which required life-saving open-heart surgery in December 2018. Although he made a full recovery, the surgery altered his basketball career.
In an interview, Shareef recalled Shaq’s support during the health crisis, saying, “I was just waking up; they were teaching me how to walk again, and my dad was like, ‘If you come back from this, you’re the baddest man on the planet.’”
Check out Shaunie’s heartfelt IG message to her son below.
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READ MORE FROM EURWEB.COM: Shareef O’Neal Explains Why He Kept Secret That His Father is Shaq
