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Making it to the NBA is a dream many high school basketball players aspire to. Aspiring athletes often try their luck at attending a Division 1 college in hopes of catching the interest of the NBA. Some athletes can make that dream a reality, but most will finish their college careers without getting drafted. Against this background, Shareef O’Neal longs to be an exception.
It’s no secret that Shareef longs to follow in the footsteps of his father, Shaquille O’Neal. After all, Shaq is considered an NBA legend. However, given Shareef’s on-court skills and stats, fans are convinced his NBA dreams will be short-lived.
Will Shareef O’Neal be drafted? Here’s everything we know.
Quelle: Getty Images
Shaquille und Shareef O’Neal
Shareef O’Neal has a 50/50 chance of getting drafted into the NBA.
To be honest, there’s no clear indication as to whether or not Shareef will actually be drafted into the NBA. On the one hand, Shareef is Shaq’s son, which obviously works in his favour. However, Shareef’s basketball journey has not been ideal.
According to ESPN, the 22-year-old suffered ankle and foot injuries in his last two seasons as an LSU baller. Not to mention that Shareef had to undergo open-heart surgery during his freshman year, which caused Shareef to miss his freshman year at UCLA.
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If you look at Shareef’s stats, his chances of getting drafted don’t look too promising. For starters, Shareef averaged just 2.6 points per game during his collegiate career and played 37 total games at UCLA and LSU. So it’s easy to see why sports fans aren’t sure if Shareef will be drafted.
Fans also questioned Shareef’s NBA draft prospects after a mix-up. According to sports reporter Shams Charania, a previous list of NBA drafts incorrectly included Shareef – leading fans to believe his NBA prospects were shot. However, Shareef is still in the running to be drafted.
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Shareef recently shared that Shaq was not pleased that the LSU junior was picked in the NBA draft.
Dad knows best! ESPN reports that the LSU player attended a pre-draft practice session with the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday, June 21, 2022. However, Shareef shared in a video press conference that Shaq was not pleased with his NBA draft decision.
“We’re kind of bumping heads through this process,” Shareef said during the conference. “He wanted me to stay in school. I wanted to improve myself with it. He knows I train with teams. But I won’t lie, we haven’t talked about it. I’m kind of fair. He didn’t do any prepackaged workouts, he just jumped straight into the team [The Orlando Magic] – so it’s a different grind.”
SHAQ’s son Shareef Oneal went to a Lakers pre-draft workout without his dad knowing ???? pic.twitter.com/LBYyoQ7DXe
— 2Cool2Blog (@2cooI2blog) June 21, 2022
Most people would take the advice of an NBA legend — especially if it’s her dad — but Shareef is eager to do things on his own terms.
“It sucks that he didn’t like that idea, but I’m a grown man, I’m 22 years old, I can make my own decisions,” Shareef added. “It was right under my nose. I don’t back down from it. I’ll get it when I see it. That’s the way I’m built.”
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We wish Shareef O’Neal the best of luck in the 2022 NBA Draft.
The 2022 NBA Draft is scheduled to air June 23, 2022 at 8 p.m. EST on ABC and ESPN.
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