2022 NBA Draft: Shareef O’Neal was ‘starstruck’ working out for Lakers

Shareef O’Neal Lakers Their absolute best. Born a few months before the Lakers’ first three straight titles in the early 2000s, he remembers going to games and championship parades as a kid and cheering on his father Shakir in his 34th jersey. I am.

Those memories made him silent as a star track. Prior to pre-draft training on Tuesday.. But it came as a bittersweet moment. He returned to Los Angeles and wore purple and gold, but without his father’s guidance throughout the process.

“I came in today and was a kind of star truck,” Sharif said. “Similarly, I was really born into this team. My dad and Kobe won when I was born and now wear Lakers gear. It was crazy. I lost my word. ..

“It’s a great blessing for the team I grew up with. My dad won the championship with this team, and now that I have the Lakers stuff, it’s great. It’s a dream come true. is.”

But it wasn’t a complete celebration homecoming for Shareef. He also revealed that he and his dad disagreed on what path to take this spring. LSU Continue his education by choosing a chance for Shareef to seize his NBA dreams. As a result, Sharif sailed in the pre-draft waters without being near his father.

“I and he are bothered by this process,” Shareef said. “He wanted me to stay in school. I wanted to make myself better and experience this. He knows I work for the team, but I I’m not going to lie, we’re not talking about this. I’m just like going through it. He didn’t do pre-draft training. He just went straight to the team. Now it’s another grind. But he didn’t want me to do this. He probably doesn’t want me to say this, but that’s okay, we both We are also growing. We will overcome it. “

Shareef is those mixed emotions Participated in his latest trainingOn the one hand, a few centimeters away from his lifelong dreams, and on the other hand, he does it without the man who is synonymous with the Lakers franchise.

Shareef’s college career was full of ups and downs, primarily due to injuries. Frustration began as expected when he first declared the draft without signing the agent. As Sharif said, the invitation to the G League Elite Camp “opened many doors” and paved the way for training with his team. As his dreams began to come true in front of him, Shareef remained in the draft and missed the opportunity by leaving the LSU and then his father behind.

“It was a little scary to me,” Sharif said with his father through a pre-draft process that wasn’t near him. “He is enthusiastic about education and I feel like I’m in college. I didn’t have the opportunity. I didn’t feel like myself in college.

“When I started getting workout calls from the team, I was like a guy. If this is what I want to do, it’s right in front of me. Just go for it.” So I work Continued. He didn’t like the idea at all, “Sharif added. “I’m sorry he didn’t like the idea, but I’m a grown-up man. I’m 22 years old, I can make my own decision. It was right in front of my face, I haven’t backed it up since then. Get it when you see it. That’s how I was built.

“I take everything the same. I had heart surgery as well. Clearing is in front of me, being healthy is in front of me, I aimed for it. I’m not retreating for anyone. I know he’s an NBA legend, I know he’s my father But it was right in front of me. I had to go get it. Whether he likes it or not, it really stops doing what I want to do I’m not going. As I said, I want to play basketball, I want to get it. So I’m here. “

The sea between Shakir and Shakir for the past few weeks and months may have been rough, but he could remember smiling and growing up around the franchise.

“Whenever I came to the Lakers game, I wore a yellow 34 jersey,” he said. “When I was a kid, I was my dad’s biggest fan. I went to all the games. Seeing him and Kobe do so, seeing him win the championship, I I went to the parade and everything else. I’ve been around this franchise for a long time. “

There are inherent pressures and expectations associated with being the son of an NBA player, not to mention Hall of Fame and legends. But that pressure hasn’t affected Shareef for years. In fact, he doesn’t even like to use that word.

“One thing about me is that I don’t really maintain word pressure in my vocabulary,” Shareef said. “Pressure makes diamonds. I feel like I and he are talking a completely different story now. I experienced what he didn’t experience. He’s the best in the draft. It was a pick, and I had to grind a little to get here. I had to grind a lot. I have had to experience a few things over the last four years, including leg injuries, heart surgery, etc. I had to, but it doesn’t look like it’s hiding in his shadow. I know it’s always there, comparison.

“Every kid will be compared to their dad doing the same thing as them. It will be there. It doesn’t bother me. I don’t really believe in pressure. My own game I feel like I’m playing. I and he are different players. He went back, went back and dunked at you, 7’1 “, £ 300. I’m 6’10 “, 215 (pounds). I don’t play that backdown game. The big guys in the league drop the ball and shoot three shots. He has only three in his entire career. I don’t think I wasn’t. I have no contempt, but I need to be able to knock down shots right now. As I grow up, I feel like I’m playing a completely different game. “

Sure, Sharif’s game isn’t very similar to his father’s. Nor is his journey involving multiple starts and stops from high school.There was probably no greater fear than the condition of the heart he was diagnosed with and had surgery before the freshman season. UCLA In 2018.

Photo by Brian Ross Muller / Icon Sports Wire via Getty Images

After medically wearing a red shirt, Charlief returned to the court next season under a new head coach and played only 13 games. He announced he would move to LSU in February 2020, but his fate didn’t change much as he played only 24 games over two seasons at Baton Rouge due to his leg injury.

“I feel like I didn’t have the opportunity to show what I was doing in high school,” Shareef said. “I’m not maximizing my potential in high school basketball, but I’ve been playing with an unhealthy mind for the rest of my life, so I feel like I wasn’t really into basketball. It was just fixed a few years ago and is back again.

“Work every day. One day, you’ll reach your full potential. Still, you need to be faster and stronger. You still need to improve everything. People will see the real thing soon. I’m ready to play basketball. Sure, I’m trying to achieve my goals and dreams. But I feel like people haven’t seen that full Shareef yet, and I’m sure I’m going to reach it. “

Perhaps the Lakers will be the team that can unleash his potential. I feel almost certain that Shareef will not be drafted on Thursday.He is not listed in the top 100 prospects Sam Beseny Athletic Also he Top 100 Best Prospects Available with Draft Express..

But that doesn’t change how close he is to his dreams, and the feelings he experienced when he went home on Tuesday with or without his father.

“I told my family that I was trained in the Lakers, and they’re all excited,” Sharif said. “Grandma was really excited because I never thought I was in this position. I always thought my dad would be in Lakers gear, but now I’m in these I have the opportunity to wear colors. It’s great. “

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