If you are a fan of basketball, you might have wondered if Jermaine O’Neal and Shaquille O’Neal are related. After all, they share the same last name and they both played in the NBA as centers or power forwards. They also faced each other several times on the court, most notably in the 2000 NBA Finals when Shaq’s Los Angeles Lakers defeated Jermaine’s Indiana Pacers in six games.
However, despite the similarities, Jermaine O’Neal and Shaquille O’Neal are not related by blood. They have different parents, siblings, and backgrounds. Here is what you need to know about the two NBA stars and their family ties.
Jermaine O’Neal’s Early Life and Career
Jermaine O’Neal was born on October 13, 1978, in Columbia, South Carolina. He and his older brother, Clifford, were raised by their mother, Angela Ocean. Ocean worked hard to support her sons and left her children largely to their own devices. O’Neal found his love for athletics at a young age. Tall and quick, he enjoyed both American football and basketball, but basketball was his favorite sport. Two of his basketball heroes are Hakeem Olajuwon and Bill Russell; O’Neal often marveled at Olajuwon’s approach to the game, while he loved watching Russell’s video highlights of his duels with Wilt Chamberlain.
O’Neal attended Eau Claire High School in Columbia, where he became a basketball star. He averaged 22.4 points, 12.4 rebounds, and 5.2 blocks per game as a senior and was named South Carolina Mr. Basketball in 1996. He also participated in the McDonald’s All-American Game and the Nike Hoop Summit that year. O’Neal had committed to play college basketball for the University of Kentucky, but he decided to enter the 1996 NBA draft straight out of high school instead.
O’Neal was selected by the Portland Trail Blazers with the 17th overall pick in the draft, becoming the youngest player to ever play an NBA game at 18 years old. However, he struggled to find playing time and develop his skills in Portland, as he was behind veteran big men such as Arvydas Sabonis, Rasheed Wallace, and Brian Grant on the depth chart. He averaged only 3.9 points and 3.1 rebounds per game in four seasons with the Trail Blazers.
