Lakers Playoff Hero Takes Big Shot at Shareef with Possible Call to Shaq
Following in someone's footsteps is always tough, especially when that someone is a four-time NBA Champion and basketball icon. Shaquille O'Neal had an illustrious 20 year career, most known for his time with the Orlando Magic and Los Angeles Lakers.
With all this, comes a lot of pressure from people regarding Shaq's children, specifically one of his sons, Shareef O'Neal. Shareef has been in the spotlight for quite some time. After bouncing around from college to college and having open heart surgery a couple years ago, he's had to battle through a lot.
The Lakers gave the 6'9 forward a shot on their summer league team and performed pretty adequately. However, former Lakers Champion, Robert Horry had shared some tough love to Shaq about his son Shareef on his Big Shot Bob podcast.
“I picked up my phone and I was getting ready to call Shaq like ‘Yo man, you gotta tell your son…he can’t be playing off the damn O’Neal name. He gotta go out there and play.’ You gotta put forth some more effort man. You know Shareef’s such a nice kid, that I don’t know if he has that dog in him to go out there and take what he wants."
Horry shared on his podcast, 'Big Shot Bob Pod.' Some harsh but honest words coming for the 7-time champ. Horry knows a thing or two about what it takes to make it into the league and be successful in it. Horry thrived on stepping up when his number was called, especially in the playoffs.
The three-time Lakers champ also mentioned that he witnessed Shareef let "the tall white guy they (Lakers) just signed...dude do whatever he wants.”
The "tall white guy" mentioned by Horry was former Virgina Cavalier, Jay Huff, who was recently signed by LA to an Exhibit 10 contract. Meaning Huff will be attending Lakers training camp in the fall.
According to NBA reporter, Shams Charania, Shareef O'Neal signed a six-figure contract with the G-League Ignite. It is clear that O'Neal is persistent at maximizing his basketball career.
Shareef clearly still has a lot of work to do in bettering his game. His journey will begin in the fall and wish him nothing but the best.
