Former NBA All-Star Jermaine O’Neal shared deeply personal details about his childhood and absent father during a recent appearance on the Out The Mud podcast.
O’Neal revealed that his father, who was incarcerated for murder at one point, fathered 33 children.
“I’m one of 33 kids. True story,” O’Neal said, via HoopsHype, adding that he met 17 of his siblings only after his father’s death.
The 46-year-old said his father was present early in the life of his older brother but left before Jermaine was born.
“He was there for the first two years of my brother’s life. But when my mother got pregnant with me, he dipped,” O’Neal recalled.
He added that his last name—O’Neal—is fabricated, explaining, “That’s not even his name. He made it up.”
According to O’Neal, he didn’t meet his father until he turned 30, only for him to die 13 months later.
He described spending his youth angry and confused over the abandonment, especially after hearing stories of how involved his father was with his older brother.
“I was so upset about the fact that he didn’t choose me,” he said, expressing how the emotional gap impacted him long after childhood.
O’Neal admitted he nearly directed that resentment toward his mother, but acknowledged her strength in raising him alone.
“My mother—she was the force behind everything,” he said.
O’Neal spent 18 seasons in the NBA, earning six All-Star selections and winning the league’s Most Improved Player award in 2002.
