Shareef O’Neal to Play for Lakers in Summer League

The former UCLA and LSU forward will have a chance to follow in his legendary father’s footsteps.

Shareef O’Neal will follow in his famous father Shaquille O’Neal’s footsteps this summer and suit up for the Lakers.

The former UCLA and LSU forward is set to play for the team in NBA Summer League, he confirmed on Twitter.

💜💛 THANK YOU FOR THIS OPPORTUNITY @Lakers ! pic.twitter.com/z0TeRVVGed

— Shareef O’Neal (@SSJreef) June 24, 2022

Shams Charania of The Athletic was the first to break the news, which O’Neal retweeted before making his own announcement less than an hour later.

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O’Neal was a vaunted recruit, but played in just 37 college games over four years. He took a medical redshirt at UCLA in 2018–19 due to a heart condition that was discovered early in his first year at the school, and later underwent surgery.

In Jan. 2020 he announced a transfer to his father’s alma mater LSU, playing in 24 total games from 2020 to ’22. Last season, he averaged a career-high 2.9 points per game in under 10 minutes per appearance. He entered the transfer portal after the season, but ultimately decided to enter the NBA draft.

While he wasn’t selected through the draft’s 58 picks, he’ll get his shot to make a mark with the team that his father helped lead to three NBA championships.

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