“From the Court to the Family: Shaquille O’Neal’s Heartwarming Role as a Father of Six”

O’Neal and Shaunie O’Neal are proud parents of four children, namely Amirah, Me’arah, Shareef, and Shaqir. Moreover, O’Neal also has a daughter from his former girlfriend, Arnetta Yardbourgh, named Taahirah, and a stepson named Myles from Shaunie’s past relationship.

Despite his past breakups, O’Neal maintains a healthy relationship with both of his ex-partners and co-parents his children. During an episode of The Pivot Podcast, the athlete expressed his love for his children and his desire to protect and provide for them always. In an interview on Jimmy Kimmel Live! in October 2017, Shaq revealed his love for spoiling his kids during Christmas, playfully referring to himself as “Shaq-a-Claus” and stating that he gets them everything they desire.

Despite being a generous individual, the athlete prefers to wait for his children to prove their capabilities before he offers any assistance in their career endeavors. O’Neal emphasized that while he is willing to support his children’s business ventures, he still expects them to put in a considerable amount of effort. In an interview with PEOPLE in November 2022, he mentioned the importance of having a strong resume and business plan, as well as supporting their ideas with concrete numbers. He added that he strongly believes in nepotism if it is done correctly.

In an interview on the podcast “2 Lies and 1 Truth” in October 2022, former NBA player Shaquille O’Neal discussed his hopes for his children to continue building on the “generational wealth” he amassed throughout his career. After “checking into the old folks home,” O’Neal praised his children’s mothers, calling them “the strongest beings on this planet” and crediting them for expertly planning activities for their children. He also stated that he would never refer to these women as “baby mamas” because of their incredible work as two strong Black women. When asked about his favorite and worst moments with his children, O’Neal cited coming home every day to hear their voices as the best and the separation and absence of his children as the worst.

O’Neal welcomed his daughter Taahirah with his ex-girlfriend Yardbourgh in 1996. According to TNT’s Shaq Life, Taahirah graduated from Oglethorpe University with a magna cum laude degree in 2019. As per her LinkedIn profile, she works part-time as a social media assistant for her father’s entertainment company, Mine O Mine, and as an associate analyst for PepsiCo in communications.

Taahirah shared a now-deleted photo of herself and her father smiling at the beginning of his show Shaq on November 16, 2022. She expressed her gratitude for being part of the project and reminisced about her first red carpet experience with her best friend during the premiere of his HBO documentary series.

Shaunie gave birth to Myles, who later adopted O’Neal’s last name, in 1997. Myles is no stranger to the entertainment industry, having walked the runways and appeared on TV shows as a young boy.

In 2010, he made his television debut on his mother’s reality show, Basketball Wives. He also appeared on his family’s program, Shaunie’s Home Court, three years later.

At the age of 21, Myles made his runway debut at Milan Fashion Week in the Dolce & Gabbana Spring 2018 show.

Myles enjoys DJing, which has brought him and O’Neal closer. In August 2023, the NBA player revealed to PEOPLE that Myles assisted in creating live setups for DJ Diesel, his stage persona. O’Neal said, “We always trade songs.” “We’ve been practicing together.”

The athlete even claimed to have sparked Myles’ interest in the medium. “I remember when I just bought him his first DJ set,” remarked the man. “He’d be in a room, and I try to let my kids do everything on their own, so he’d come in, and I’d say, ‘Figure it out,’ and he’d come back with it figured out.”

Meet the O’Neal family: Shareef, Amirah, Shaqir, and Me’arah. Shareef, a rising basketball star, was diagnosed with a congenital heart abnormality just before his rookie season at UCLA. Following a successful surgery, he continued playing basketball for LSU and UCLA before dropping out to go pro. Amirah currently plays for Texas Southern University, while Shaqir aspires to change the narrative about historically Black institutions and universities and make it to the league. Me’arah, the youngest of the siblings, recently left her after-school basketball program and has received offers from several universities, including LSU, UCLA, TCU, Virginia University, and Howard University. Despite the challenges they have faced, the O’Neal siblings are determined to pursue their dreams on the basketball court.