Shaquille O'Neal's Son Shareef Talks Undergoing Heart Surgery at Age 18 and 'Scary' Return to Basketball

At 18, the G-League Ignite star was diagnosed with anomalous coronary artery — a congenital heart defect that caused an artery to grow in the wrong place

Shareef O'Neal said the best advice he's ever received from his dad, NBA legend Shaquille O'Neal, came during an emotional moment in the hospital as he recovered after undergoing open-heart surgery in 2018.

Appearing on the Now For Later podcast, Shareef, 23, said he was watching a college game with his dad when the 51-year-old retired athlete "just looked at me and was like, 'don't let anybody tell you that you can't do something.'"

At the time, Shareef, then 18, was recovering after undergoing open-heart surgery to treat his anomalous coronary artery diagnosis — a congenital heart defect that caused an artery to grow in the wrong place.

"It sounds really simple, but at that time, it was like, oh yeah, whatever I believe I can do, I can do it. So, you know, I kind of stuck with that mindset too," Shareef explained.

The words of wisdom from his father were key in helping him navigate his transition into playing professionally, Shareef told the show's host, Eric Mika.

"I didn't have the best college degree," Shareef admitted. "It wasn't actually wasn't good at all. But, you know, I wanted to go pro. I wanted to try it. I feel like, as an adult, you gotta go through trials and errors. Like it didn't work, but keep trying something else."

Shareef said he's been advised "to stay in college" or "go overseas" by critics and analysts who doubted his ability to succeed in the NBA.

In 2022, he competed in NBA Summer League for the Los Angeles Lakers but was not offered a contract to stay with the team for the season. Instead, he signed a deal worth six figures with the league's developmental team, G-League Ignite.

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Although Shareef's heart condition has thrown obstacles into his path to the NBA, his dad's advice helped him overcome self-doubt. “It's basic advice, but I feel like I kind of stick with that every day," Shareef added. "If I want to do something or if I believe I can do something, I'm going to try it."

Later in the podcast, Shareef commended his parents on how they handled the emotional challenges of his health scare. "I feel like both of my parents did a good job of letting me decide" his next steps after doctors cleared him to play basketball again. "Whatever I said, they were going to be on board with it."

What's more, Shaquille and Shaunie's strength was a major asset in Shareef's return to physical activity. "They never said they were scared for me to play because I think they knew that would scare me," he explained. "That’s something you don’t want to hear from your parents."

Before his first workout post-medical clearance, Shareef recalled, "I was scared and I knew my mom knew I was scared. Right before I left, I gave her a big hug."

Related: Shaquille O'Neal's Son Shareef Honors Kobe Bryant with Massive Leg Tattoo

Playing competitively again was "a huge step" for Shareef post-recovery, and he remembered "the look on" his mother's face before the workout. "I couldn’t even imagine what her nerves were like that whole time," he said.

Shareef shared that he's "still trying to" navigate the mental strain post-recovery. "When the whole thing happened with Damar Hamlin, that just brought me back to 2018," Shareef said, referring to the Buffalo Bills player's cardiac arrest during a Jan. 2 NFL game.

Shareef continued, "It’s crazy cause I can go so long without thinking about it, and then if one little thing reminds me of it, it just brings it all back. That’s something I'm still trying to work on."

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