Report: Shareef O'Neal agrees to NBA Summer League deal with Los Angeles Lakers

Shareef O’Neal didn’t hear his name called in the 2022 NBA Draft, but he’s still getting an opportunity.

O’Neal has agreed to an NBA Summer League contract with the Los Angeles Lakers, according to The Athletic and Stadium’s Shams Charania. The former LSU standout will join the Lakers’ Summer League team in Las Vegas July 7-17 this year. There’s a fun connection, too, considering his dad — Shaquille O’Neal — played for the Lakers from 1996 to 2004 and won three titles alongside Kobe Bryant.

Shareef O’Neal played 37 games over three years between UCLA and LSU, but didn’t start during his career. He averaged 2.9 points and 2.1 rebounds per game in that time. He arrived at UCLA as a four-star recruit and the No. 43 prospect in the country from the class of 2018, according to the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

2022 NBA Draft: Houston Rockets select Tari Eason, LSU forward

LSU forward Tari Eason is off the board in the 2022 NBA Draft. With the No. 17 pick of the first round, Eason was selected by the Houston Rockets.

The Tigers’ sophomore big is off to the big leagues. Eason only spent one season in Baton Rogue, but a few months in yellow and purple was all he needed to leap from transfer afterthought to NBA draft pick. Who could’ve expected such a breakout from him when he arrived last offseason? Very few people.

Eason had some pedigree as a recruit. He was a little bit outside the top 100 per the On3 Consensus and was a solid four-star pickup in the 2020 class, where he committed to Cincinnati out of high school. He arrived to the Queen City in a rough year for the program. After a successful first season where UC would have made the tournament, the bottom fell out for Bearcats coach John Brannen in year two. Cincinnati barely cracked .500 at 12-11 as the team missed the postseason and Brannen was later fired due to failures on the court and reports of unacceptable behavior at practices.