Shareef O'Neal Biography

Shareef O'Neal was interested in sports from a young age and gravitated towards skateboarding in his early years. However, he developed an interest in basketball during middle school and started training regularly when he turned 13. At Windward High School in Los Angeles, he started playing for the school team as the forward during the freshman year. His obvious talent coupled with his ability to dunk the ball easily helped him gain initial popularity. Videos of him playing started circulating around the internet and he soon became an internet sensation as well. He was even covered by the Washington Post. Despite the fame, Shareef was rested for many games as senior players took over. Despite this, Shareef ended his season with an average of 3.7 points. With such an impressive record to his name early in his career, Shareef was constantly sought after by many universities. He received scholarships from Baylor, UCLA, Kansas State, USC, and LSU. In his sophomore year at Windward, his appearances increased, and his performance continued to shine. He was praised for his defending and shooting skills.

In 2016, Shareef decided to transfer to Crossroads School in Santa Monica and played for the team as the main player. He continued his impressive performance here as well. In his senior season, he had become the number one player in California. At the same time, he had agreed to join University of Arizona for his university basketball. However, Arizona’s sports team was embroiled in a bribery scandal and Shareef decided to go for a safer option. He only had a verbal agreement with Arizona and managed to wriggle out of it without trouble. In the aftermath of this, he switched to UCLA, which was his second choice. In 2018, when Shareef was ready to make his debut in competitive basketball for UCLA, tragedy struck as he was diagnosed with a rare heart condition. It was soon announced that he needed an open-heart surgery and a medical redshirt during his freshman year. Despite the initial devastation at the news, Shareef O’Neal and his family rallied together and decided to push through the tough times. He eventually underwent the surgery in December 2018. In his process of recuperation, Shareef slowly focused on his emotional well-being and gathered strength to return to the field. In March 2019, he cleared stress tests, which declared normal heart activity.

Shareef announced his recovery and return to the game through social media. He was instantly congratulations by many celebrities and fans alike. After a wait, he made his Drew League debut in June 2019 and tackled the ball successfully. He is currently preparing for his first season at UCLA and eventual drafts. Apart from basketball, Shareef is also a popular social media celebrity and is often praised for his photographs. He currently has over 2 million followers on Instagram.

Shareef Rashaun O'Neal was born on January 11, 2000 to Shaquille O’Neal and Shaunie O’Neal in Los Angeles. His father is a former NBA Hall of Fame player, and his mother is a TV producer famous for ‘Basketball Wives.’ He has three younger siblings: Amirah, Shaqir, and Me’ara. As a child, Shareef inclined towards competing in skateboarding but later decided to train in basketball in his early teenage years. His hobbies include watching movies, playing video games, creating mixtapes and short movies, and film editing. His favorite movies include ‘Unbroken’, ‘Creed 2’, and ‘The Revenant’. He considers music to be a big part of his life and believes that it was music that helped him heal through tough times. He is often found recording songs at his friends’ studios.