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Shareef O'Neal relates to Bronny: 'Being the son of an NBA legend isn't easy'

Jayne Kamin-Oncea / Getty Images Sport / Getty

Shareef O'Neal, son of Hall of Famer Shaquille, can relate to 13-year-old LeBron "Bronny" James Jr.'s trials and tribulations as the progeny of arguably the greatest basketball player on planet earth.

"Bronny (is) one kid I can relate to a lot," O'Neal wrote in an Instagram post. "We both kind of have it the same way; being the son of an NBA legend isn’t easy and to get all of this at a young age is a real challenge to adjust to."

As videos of LeBron James' eldest son dunking on and dominating his peers elicit visions of the first father-son on-court pairing in league history, it's just as likely that Shareef and Bronny eventually duke it out in the Association, just as their famous fathers did.

O'Neal, the No. 32-ranked high school recruit for the 2018 class, according to the ESPN 100, is committed to playing for UCLA this season. James Jr., for his part, is on track to be one of the most sought-after commits for the 2022 recruit class - if the one-and-done rule isn't abolished altogether,

"Bronny has it a little bit worse than I do," O'Neal continued, "but the difference between him and I (is) he can back his (game) up at such a young age. When I would get hate from people in the crowd at 14-15 years old, I would choke up and wouldn’t play my game, and I’m still getting the hang of it. This kid has it all! I’m looking forward to seeing him kill it for the rest of his career!"

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