Shaquille O’Neal has collected just about every achievement imaginable during his larger-than-life career. NBA championships? Check. Hall of Fame career? Absolutely. Business empire? Yep. DJ career, commercials, TV personality, and enough viral moments to power the internet for another decade? Also yes.
But this week, Big Diesel looked the happiest about something way more personal: being a proud dad.
Shaq took to Instagram to celebrate his son Shaqir graduating from Sacramento State, and the post immediately turned into a full-on NBA family reunion in the comments section.
Shaq wrote:
“Congrats my twin @shaqironeall #sacrameto state. So proud of you son. Now it’s time for bigger and better things love you my gee”
First of all, “my twin” might be the most Shaq dad comment ever. Second, the support pouring in afterward showed just how respected the big man is around the basketball world.
Here’s what some of Shaq’s friends had to say in the comments:
Chris Webber: “🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥cheah. Congrats !!!!”
Mateen Cleaves: “🔥🔥”
Quentin Richardson: “🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥”
Overtime: “All grown up wow 🥹”
Meanwhile, Vince Carter, Carlos Boozer, JR Smith, Kenyon Martin, Josh Smith, Dorell Wright, and Maxwell Lewis all jumped in with likes on the post. Basically, if you’ve ever hooped at a high level, chances are you stopped scrolling long enough to salute the O’Neal family.
Shaqir’s basketball journey has been an interesting one. He spent time at Texas Southern, Florida A&M, and Sacramento State during his college career. Over four seasons, he averaged 4.2 points and 2.5 rebounds while appearing in 101 games.
Sure, those numbers may not exactly scream “next Shaq dynasty,” but honestly, that’s not really the point here. Graduating college while balancing athletics, pressure, expectations, and carrying one of the most famous last names in sports is no small accomplishment.
And in a pretty cool twist, both father and son graduated during the same week.
Yahoo Sports summed it up perfectly:
“Shaquille O’Neal and his son Shaqir both graduated in the same week 🎓 Shaqir graduated from Sacramento State, while Shaq earned his second master’s from LSU 👏”
That’s right. While most people are slowing down after retirement, Shaq is out here collecting master’s degrees like he used to collect rebounds. The man really does not know how to sit still.
Of course, education has always mattered to Shaq. Even during his legendary NBA career, he consistently talked about finishing school and setting an example for his kids. Considering he entered the league as the No. 1 overall pick in the 1992 NBA Draft and went on to dominate for 19 seasons, he could’ve easily skipped all that.
Instead, he doubled down on it.
And let’s be honest, that’s probably one of the coolest parts of Shaq’s story. Whether he’s cracking jokes on Inside the NBA, spinning records as DJ Diesel, or cheering on his kids, he always seems to make family and growth part of the conversation.
This week wasn’t about championships or stat lines.
It was about a father proudly celebrating his son.
And honestly? That might be one of Shaq’s best victories yet.