Mom says UCLA's Shareef O'Neal 'could've died' from heart condition

UCLA sophomore forward Shareef O'Neal sat out the entire 2018-19 season after the school's medical team discovered an issue with his heart during a routine checkup in September.

Shareef - the eldest son of Hall of Famer Shaquille O'Neal - was diagnosed with a right anomalous coronary artery and underwent open-heart surgery in October. Had the abnormality gone undiagnosed, Shareef could've gone into sudden cardiac arrest.

"(It's) an artery that just grows in the wrong place," his mother, Shaunie, said on VH1's "Basketball Wives," according to ESPN. "He was born with it. He could've died from it. They let us know Shareef needed open-heart surgery. That made my heart break."

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she knows everything she’s done for me, 19 years and never left my side. Always the one to pick me up if I’m ever down. Stayed with me every night in the hospital and didn’t get any sleep.Couldn’t ask for a better mama ! When I make it, it’s all for her❤️ everything is for her . Happy Mother’s Day mama

A post shared by Shareef O'Neal (@shareefoneal) on May 12, 2019 at 9:49am PDT

The condition isn't career-ending. Shareef returned to the court in late March and participated in his first team workouts in May. He's expected to return during UCLA's 2019-20 season.

Shareef was a four-star prospect coming out of high school, ranking 32nd in ESPN's class of 2018.