While Shareef O'Neal travels to his father's roots at LSU, the young forward decided to pay homage to his inspirations as well. Shareef, the son of Los Angeles Lakers icon Shaquille O'Neal, elected to combine both of Kobe Bryant's jersey numbers–which resulted in him donning No.32 for the season.
For what it's worth, Shaq wore No.32 with the Orlando Magic.
Shareef O’Neal honored his dad and Kobe with his jersey number this season at LSU 💜
(via @SSJreef) pic.twitter.com/NRfuceSarR
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) November 25, 2020
Shaquille played his college career at LSU, posting legendary numbers that saw him go first in the 1992 NBA Draft. O'Neal then donned the Purple and Gold for a majority of his career during his days with the Lakers.
Shareef O'Neal is planning on making his season debut with the LSU Tigers after spending two seasons with the UCLA Bruins. One of those seasons saw him sidelined with a heart condition. The Bruins kept the big man on the roster as they continued to observe his heart activity. He then returned for his freshman season and averaged 2.2 points along with 2.9 rebounds per game through 10.2 minutes.
After clearing waivers last week, he'll be set to take on the Edwardsville Cougars on Thanksgiving Day. At 6-foot-10, O'Neal has been described as a capable scorer that provides strong finishes at the rim largely due to his athleticism–much like his Lakers icon dad. His overall offensive arsenal needs a lot of development, which could come as he earns additional playing time with LSU versus his time with UCLA.
If he's able to make the necessary leaps to turn into a NBA draft prospect, he could make for an interesting entry in next year's draft class.
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