Shareef O'Neal Says LeBron James, Andrew Wiggins Inspired Him to Play Basketball

Shareef O'Neal will spend his life trying to fill his father's size-22 shoes. Yet the 17-year-old forward, who has committed to Arizona, plays less like Shaquille than modern NBA stars.

Like most teenagers, O'Neal credited LeBron James—specifically the More Than a Game documentary following his high school career—as an inspiration to play basketball.

"

"More than a game" inspired me the most to play basketball, that movie will always be my favorite @KingJames

— Shareef O'Neal (@SSJreef) August 3, 2017"

In tweets he later deleted, O'Neal also spoke fondly of Andrew Wiggins of the Minnesota Timberwolves and reminded everyone he was too young to appreciate his father's dominance.

Shareef O'Neal

In a May interview with Bleacher Report's Dave Schilling, O'Neal discussed his admiration for the Cleveland Cavaliers star.

"LeBron is my favorite player," he said. "I've always wanted to play against him, because I do a lot of studying on him and a lot of good players."

He was four years old when his dad left the Los Angeles Lakers, but the high school senior can likely recall all eight of James' NBA Finals appearances.

[Shareef O'Neal]