Shareef O’Neal, son of Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal, has agreed to play in the Summer League for the Los Angeles Lakers.
The 2022 NBA Draft arrived on June 23, and one of the names of interest that was not Paolo Banchero, Chet Holmgren or Jabari Smith Jr. was Shareef O’Neal, the son of Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal. After all 58 selections were announced, O’Neal remained undrafted. But that did not remain the case for long.
According to The Athletic’s Shams Charania, O’Neal has agreed to play in the Summer League for the Los Angeles Lakers, the team his father won three NBA Championships with.
Shareef O’Neal to play for Lakers in Summer League
There was a link between O’Neal and the Lakers, and it did not have to do with his father. The team brought in O’Neal for a workout prior to the NBA Draft. Now, he is set to join them this summer in Las Vegas.
O’Neal initially started off his college career with UCLA for the 2019-20 season before moving onto LSU, the same college basketball program his father played for. O’Neal played in 24 games the past two seasons with the Tigers (zero starts), where he averaged 2.8 points and 3.1 rebounds while posting a field goal percentage of 44.6.
In commenting on sharing an LSU legacy, Shaquille O’Neal recently told FanSided that “Shareef is his own man and I’m proud of him for the way that he has approached his basketball career. I’m lucky that he chose LSU and we will forever have that connection.” Now, they share a Lakers connection as well.
The Summer League officially kicks off on July 7 and runs until July 17. The Lakers play four games at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nev. Here is the full schedule, courtesy of NBA.com:
- July 8: vs. Phoenix Suns at 7:00 p.m. PT
- July 10: vs. Charlotte Hornets at 6:30 p.m. PT
- July 12: vs. Los Angeles Clippers at 8:00 p.m. PT
- July 15: vs. New Orleans Pelicans at 8:00 p.m. PT
Instead of LSU’s purple and gold, Shareef O’Neal will be donning the Lakers’ purple and gold this summer.