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Shaq announces news about his son Shareef O’Neal

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports
By Darryn Albert | Last updated Dec 2, 2025 10:15 PM ET

The Shaq Brand is looking more like The Shareef Brand these days.

On the latest episode of his show “The Big Podcast with Shaq,” retired NBA icon Shaquille O’Neal announced some news about his son Shareef. Shaq shared that Shareef is now in the process of taking over his sneaker company, The Shaq Brand.

“My son is taking over now because my s–t was kind of old,” said Shaq. “He said, ‘Dad let me create something for the YNs.’ I didn’t even know what YNs were … A lot of these [shoes] are his designs.”

Here is the full podcast clip.

Shaq on his son Shareef taking over the Shaq Brand:

“He said, dad let me create something for the YNs. I didn’t even know what YNs were.” pic.twitter.com/YEX9K1whvX
— The Big Podcast (@bigpodwithshaq) December 1, 2025

Shaq first signed with Reebok prior to his NBA debut in 1992. He then split with Reebok in 1998 to produce an independent and more affordable shoe available for sale through retailers such as Walmart, and The Shaq Brand was officially born. However, Shaq and Reebok would later renew their partnership in 2012.

In 2023, Shaq was appointed by Reebok as the President of Reebok Basketball. He is also a large shareholder in Authentic Brands Group (ABG), the company that acquired Reebok from Adidas in 2021 and also now owns the licensing rights to The Shaq Brand.

As for Shareef, now 25 years old, he had a brief career playing basketball, suiting up in college for UCLA and LSU. While Shareef also got a couple opportunities at the NBA level, it appears he is now transitioning into a new job as the head of his father’s famous sneaker brand.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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