NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal’s eldest son Shareef O’Neal recently discussed the complex health crisis that Bronny James is going through and relived his own past experience in the process. As some fans might have already heard, LeBron James’ son Bronny James recently suffered a cardiac arrest while attending practice at USC.
The frequency with which young athletes are undergoing serious health problems is undoubtedly a cause for concern. After all, both Bronny and Shareef going through heart issues before even taking a step onto an NBA court is certainly a problem.
There are only a few people who have had heart attacks or similar problems and lived to discuss it. Shareef knows what Bronny is going through, especially when compared to the rest of us. With that being said, let us take a closer look at what he had to say.
Shareef O’Neal extends support to Bronny James after cardiac arrest
To those who might not be aware, Shareef O’Neal went through open heart surgery in order to treat an anomalous coronary artery diagnosis. This is quite a serious procedure and Shareef required long periods of rehabilitation in order to get back to normal.
Although a cardiac arrest isn’t the same and doesn’t really require surgery, what Bronny James went through is also quite dangerous and could have even been fatal if he did not have adequate medical facilities and staff on standby.
In order to show his support and also explain what the entire process was like for him, Shareef went into detail regarding his own health issues. Here is what he said on the subject.
“I talked to Bronny, I sent him a message. I just said any questions you have you can ask me cuz I could probably answer them for you. I know people are going to be saying that they’re praying for you and all that you kinda just don’t wanna hear too much about it at the moment.”
As Lebron James’ family remain by Bronny’s side after his cardiac arrest, Shaquille O’Neal’s son Shareef speaks out about his own health scare and what it was like undergoing open-heart surgery at 18. @molareports has more. pic.twitter.com/YaavQM64pl
— Good Morning America (@GMA) July 27, 2023
Shareef went on to discuss his own struggles and mental challenges in overcoming his condition, “When am I going to be able to get back? I can’t even walk right now. What does my future look like? and that’s when I kinda realized I was like I don’t know if basketball is ever going to be an option again…He(Shaq) was like you make it out of this you’re going to be the baddest man on the planet.”
Shareef was the same age as Bronny when he underwent open heart surgery. Many NBA experts have opined that his health issues crippled his chances of playing in the NBA. We hope it is not the same case with Bronny James.