Shaquille O’Neal is one of the most dominant players to ever play in the NBA and his children are looking to continue the greatness their late name evokes as the next generation of hoops stars.
It is no secret that O’Neal’s six children have a strong basketball background. His youngest daughter looks like she might have next on the women’s side as the 16-year-old’s latest highlight reel video puts the basketball world on notice that she is coming for the top spot.
Who Is Me’Arah O’Neal?
Me’Arah O’Neal is a 6-foot-3 forward who attends Episcopal High School in Houston, Texas area. She is the daughter of Shaq and ex-wife Shaunie. According to ESPN, Me’Arah is ranked the 35th player in the country on their top-100 rankings of high school girls basketball players.
She made waves on social media when her highlight reel was posted by @courtsidefilms on Instagram. Myles O’Neal, her brother, commented three crying emojis as Me’Arah basketball growth was displayed in the video. It showed how much her game has developed from the age of 13 until now. Myles is son of Shaunie and stepson of Shaq but took on his last name after the two got married in 2002.
The rising four-star senior currently holds scholarship offers from LSU, UCLA, Ole Miss, Kentucky, Florida, Baylor, Tennessee, Virgina, California, and Howard. Her ability to stretch the floor with her long range shooting, pass, handle the ball, and athleticism has the college scouts clamoring to get her services for the next few years. Angel Reese is currently dominating women’s college basketball but she may soon have some competition.
Family Affair
In addition to Me’Arah, the other O’Neal kids have made a name for themselves on the basketball court as well.
Shareef O’Neal started his college career at UCLA but had to undergo a heart surgery during his freshman year in 2018. He played for the Bruins for two seasons before transferring to his dad’s alma mater LSU. He spent two seasons at LSU playing in a reserve role. After going undrafted in 2022, the 23-year-old currently plays in the NBA G-League with the Ignite.
Amirah O’Neal recently hung up her hoop shoes for good. The 21-year-old was a preferred walk-on in 2020 for LSU but spent only one season playing for the Tigers before transferring to Texas Southern University. She also only played one season at TSU before following in the footsteps of her mother Shaunie and father by going hard with her business career. According to her Instagram bio, Amirah is a brand ambassador for Fashion Nova and Microsoft.
Shaqir O’Neal is currently a rising sophomore on the Texas Southern men’s hoops team. The 6-foot-7 wingman didn’t get much time as a freshman but looking to make a much bigger impact in his second season.
The O’Neals still have a lot of ground to make up, but hopefully one of the children could add to the family’s basketball legacy and close the gap on brothers Steph and Seth Curry and their father Dell Curry, who call themselves the “first family of the NBA.”
