Former Sacramento Kings great Mike Bibby was hired as Sacramento State's head coach just one week ago and he already has his first high-profile recruit. Shaqir O'Neal, son of Hall of Famer Shaquille O'Neal, is headed to the Hornets as Bibby's first commitment.
Shaqir entered the transfer portal after one season with Florida A&M. Just days later, he announced he verbally committed to Sacramento State in a post to his Instagram story.
"I am incredibly grateful to coach Bibby and the entire coaching staff for believing in me and offering this opportunity," he wrote in the commitment post. "I look forward to contributing to the program and representing Sacramento State."
Mike Bibby lands his first recruit for Sacramento State in Shaqir O’Neal, the son of Shaquille O’Neal. pic.twitter.com/yJmjh5l6bF
— Sean Cunningham (@SeanCunningham) March 31, 2025
Shaqir averaged 6.7 points and 3.4 rebounds per game in 29 appearances and 17 starts for the Rattlers this past season. He transferred to Florida A&M before the season started after he spent the first two seasons of his collegiate career at Texas Southern.
Bibby and the elder O'Neal's NBA careers overlapped on the West Coast. Bibby played point guard for the Kings from 2001 to '08 while Shaq was with the Los Angeles Lakers from 1996 until he was traded to the Miami Heat in '04.
Sacramento State brought in Bibby after a rough, 7–25 season in the Big Sky conference under interim coach Michael Czepil. The longtime NBA point guard has promised to get the Hornets on track.
“I’m going to turn this around," Bibby said in a Zoom interview with local reporters last week via The Sacramento Bee. "I have a lot of NBA players who want to send their sons to me to play. We can get kids. We’re going to try to have that Deion [Sanders] impact [at the University of Colorado]. We’ll have superstars in the building, active NBA players stop by.”
Just a week into the new gig, he's already kept good on part of that promise.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Mike Bibby's First Sacramento State Commit Is an NBA Legend's Son.
