Shaq knows his daughter is set to be a basketball star. But thanks to 'déjà vu parenting,' he refuses to influence how she gets there.
- Shaq's youngest child, 17-year-old Me'Arah O'Neal, is a budding basketball star.
- The 6-foot-3 post player has offers from top college programs, including Kim Mulkey's LSU Tigers.
Shaquille O'Neal is one of the most esteemed basketball stars of all time.
But the Hall of Famer — who racked up four championships, 15 All-Star nods, and eight All-NBA First Team selections through his illustrious NBA career — isn't the only baller in his family.
Three of Shaq's six children have seriously taken to the sport that's made their dad a household name. One of his sons, Shareef, played a season of college basketball at UCLA and another two at LSU before taking his talents to the NBA G League. And his youngest son, Shaqir, is a redshirt junior with the Texas Southern Tigers.
Now, the youngest O'Neal kid is getting in on the action. Me'Arah, Shaq's 17-year-old daughter who stands at an imposing 6-foot-3, is a top-40 recruit in the Class of 2024, according to ESPN.
The star post player has offers to suit up for several top collegiate programs, including the Tennessee Volunteers, Baylor Bears, Kentucky Wildcats, Florida Gators, Arizona State Sun Devils, Cal Golden Bears, and Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, per her Instagram.
She's also considering her dad's alma mater, LSU.
LSU had coach Kim Mulkey offered Me'Arah a spot on her squad back in April, mere weeks after the controversial Hall of Famer led the Tigers to their first-ever national championship just two seasons into her LSU tenure. Now, the team's biggest names — from Angel Reese to Flau'jae Johnson — are reaching out to Me'Arah on social media to help bolster Mulkey's recruiting efforts.
But Shaq refuses to force a decision on his daughter.
"I try not to get in the way," Shaq told Insider. "And the reason is I believe in déjà vu parenting."
The Los Angeles Lakers legend — who has become a prominent television personality as a co-host of "Inside the NBA" on TNT — went on to explain that he received "a million letters" from colleges seeking to bring his talent to their campus. And while his father "probably wanted me to go to Georgetown or North Carolina," as Shaq recalled, he "let me make my own decision."
Shaq says his gut led him down to Louisiana, where he became a two-time first-team All-American and the 1991 AP Player of the Year. Shaq's legacy still looms large on the Baton Rouge campus; his retired No. 33 jersey hangs in the rafters of the basketball's teams' home arena — the Pete Maravich Assembly Center — and a bronze statue of him dunking stands some 20-feet tall just outside the stadium's doors.
It's safe to say Shaq's dad's decision to let him chart his own path worked out. And now, thanks to his "déjà vu parenting" philosophy, the 2000 NBA MVP is extending a similar vote of confidence to his daughter by opting to "sit back and let her make her own decisions."
"Of course, I'd love her to play for my alma mater," Shaq admitted. "But I want her to go somewhere where she's gonna be loved, appreciated, and somewhere where they're gonna be able to showcase her talent."
"So if that's LSU, that'd be good, but I never wanted to be that dad," he added. "I gotta stick with how I was raised — and it worked. And I feel that if I break the system, everything will be doomed."