Shaqir Rashaun O’Neal is an American high school basketball player. Shaqir O’Neal plays for the Crossroads School in Santa Monica, California. As a freshman, he plays point guard for his team. Despite his illustrious last name, Shaqir O’Neal isn’t currently ranked in ESPN’s list of top recruits. However, because of his legendary father Shaquille O’Neal and brother Shareef O’Neal who plays for the Lousiana State University (LSU) Tigers, Shaqir O’Neal has repeatedly drawn attention from national sports media. Let’s find out more about this young and upcoming basketball star.
Shaqir O’Neal: What We Know So Far
When was Shaqir O’Neal born?
Shaqir O’Neal was born in Los Angeles, O’Neal on April 19th, 2003. He is the son of Hall of Fame National Basketball Association player Shaquille O’Neal and Basketball Wives star Shaunie O’Neal.
How many siblings does Shaqir O’Neal have?
Shaqir O’Neal has five siblings. Shaqir O’Neal has five siblings, elder brothers Myles and Shareef and three sisters Taahirah, Amirah, and Me’ara. His father Shaquille O’Neal and mother Shaunie O’Neal divorced because of Shaquille O’Neal’s relationships with numerous other women. She found out about it when the couple’s Blackberry phones were accidentally exchanged and O’Neal’s phone kept buzzing with texts from other women talking about their sexual encounter. As a result of that, the couple divorced in 2009. In 2016, O’Neal and his family premiered in their reality show, Shaunie’s Home Court.
Shaqir O’Neal: High School Career
Like his older brother Shareef O’Neal, he plays basketball at Crossroads High School In Santa Monica, California. Despite his reputation, O’Neal plays JV basketball for the Roadrunners.
How tall is Shaqir O’Neal?
Shaqir O’Neal is six feet five inches stall.
Does Shaqir O’Neal feel added pressure because of his father?
Being the son of one of the world’s greatest basketball players isn’t easy. The expectations are usually unrealistically high for children of pro athletes. Shaqir O’Neal isn’t the only son of an NBA player who is playing high school basketball as of now.
He recently squared off against Dwyane Wade’s son Zaire Wade at the GCU Athletic Complex’s main court.
“I don’t really pay attention to all that,” O’Neal said. “I didn’t feel any pressure even though I know there’s college coaches and staff members that work here.”
The 16-year-old is the youngest of Shaquille O’Neal’s two sons. Older brother Shareef O’Neal is a 6-9 power forward entering his sophomore year at UCLA.
Because of his brother’s talent and height, and their father’s unstoppable 7-2, 320-pound frame during his Hall of Fame career, most fans would believe Shaqir would inherit his father’s basketball unicorn DNA. However, Shaqir doesn’t have a towering Herculean body frame.
His current scout evaluation isn’t very high either and he is a three star recruit as of now.. He’s a 6-5, 170-pound guard with the wingspan of a heron and bony shoulders. However, Shaqir had an explanation for his scrawny appearance. “He doesn’t want me to lift weights yet,” Shaqir said about his father’s suggestion to naturally develop his physique.
Besides their similar first names, the only resemblance that Shaqir has with his father on is their high cheekbones and sharpened nose bridge.
Shaqir handles the ball well and has decent speed. He prefers the perimeter to the post, assists rather than a score-first mentality, and is a smooth mid-range to 3-point shooting threat. His game seems to rely more on skill than athleticism.
“I didn’t really take basketball seriously until a few years ago,” Shaqir said. “I didn’t play AAU until 14-U. I was really good when I was super young but I was never focused on it…”
According to GCU coach and NBA legend Dan Majerle, the pressure or criticism that the progeny of NBA players face when coming up in the prep ranks is intense.
“Opportunities like growing up around NBA guys, working out with them, playing against top college athletes and coaches, they get a lot of opportunities that a lot of other kids don’t have,” Majerle said. “But if it’s that you’re not going work hard just because you’re an NBA kid, then it’s not going to work out for you. You’ve gotta work really hard and progress…”
“When you hear things like, ‘oh, that’s Dwyane Wade’s kid‘ or ‘that’s Shaq’s kid,’ they expect them to be good. But it doesn’t work that way.”
Shaqir O’Neal kept moving around in childhood as his father played for six different NBA teams. He lived in Florida before he moved to the Phoenix area when Shaquille O’Neal played for the Suns from 2007 to 2009.
“We had dirtbikes. It was really fun out here,” Shaqir said about living in Arizona. “I used to ride around the neighborhood and go to all his games. It was a fun time, super hot.”
When his brother redshirted at UCLA last season because of a heart condition, Shareef was his biggest cheerleader.
“We supported him all the time, I was out there during the season,” Shaqir said. “He just told me to go out there and make him proud by going as hard as I can, like getting buckets. He’s like my best friend.”
Shaqir missed the final game for his team, 1982 UNC Tarheels, at the basketball academy on Thursday. He left early because of his family decided that he would not participate in Thursday’s activities at the camp. However, this will most likely not be the last time we hear from Shaqir O’Neal. The youngster understands the pressure of expectations very well. He has two years left of high school and is still looking for his first scholarship offer. As long as Shaqir O’Neal stays confident and keeps working hard, he is will definitely do better on the basketball court.