Shareef O'Neal, son of NBA Hall of Famer Shaquille O'Neal, knows better than anyone just how difficult it can be to follow in your father's footsteps at such an elite level. O'Neal, who has committed to play ball for the UCLA Bruins, recently took to instagram to share a heartfelt message about another up-and-coming star who can relate to the pressure, LeBron James Jr.
LeBron Jr, aka Bronny, is not even 14 years old yet but he has quickly established himself as one of the best players in his age group, and he has already been faced with hecklers at his AAU games calling him "overrated." His father recently explained that he regrets naming his son after him because of the pressure it will put on the kid to live up to the hype.
However, Shareef O'Neal says Bronny has it a little worse than he does and is handling things way better than he did at that age.
"Bronny ... One kid I can relate to a lot ... we both kind of have it the same way , being the son of an NBA legend isn’t easy and to get all of this at a young age is a real challenge to adjust to.. Bronny has it a little bit worse than I do, but the difference between him and I, he can back his up at such a young age .. when I would get hate from people in the crowd at 14/15 years old .. I would choke up and wouldn’t play my game and I’m still getting the hang of it .. it’s all a journey ... this kid has it all! I’m looking forward to seeing him kill it for the rest of his career ! Love"