Jermaine O’Neal Is A Former NBA Star – Bio, Net Worth, Height, 5 Facts

Very few basketball players make it in the NBA after being drafted straight out of high school and Jermaine O’Neal was one of those talented players who did. He began his professional NBA career with the Portland Trail Blazers in 1996 as the 17th pick in the NBA draft and his career didn’t take off like a supersonic jet with them. It took off when he moved to the Indiana Pacers in 2000, where he spent the next 8 seasons proving his worth.

After a career spanning about 18 years in the NBA, his performances gave him several awards over the years – including being a 6 x NBA All-Star player, NBA Most Improved Player award (2002), NBA Magic Johnson Award (2004), etc. He has also dedicated his life after retiring to help nurture young athletes in several sports to become the best they can be and live the American dream by founding the Drive Nation Foundation.

Biography of Jermaine O’Neal

Jermaine O’Neal was born on October 13, 1978, in Columbia, South Carolina in the United States, and though he didn’t really have his father in his life, his mother Angela Ocean more than made up for both parents and he grew up with only one sibling, his older brother Clifford.

Jermaine took to sports right from a very tender age and tried his hands on both American Football and Basketball – with probably his height and early basketball idols like Bill Russell and Akeem Olajuwon, winning him over to the sport.

He went to the Eau Claire High School of the Fine Arts, where he met coach George Glymph who helped to shape his young talents into a blossoming career. His impressive performance in his senior years in High School won him several accolades including being voted Mr Basketball and South Carolina’s Best Player of the Year. He was drafted straight into the NBA straight out of High School and went on to become one of the best players of the association.

He is happily married to Mesha and they have 2 children together – first daughter, Asija, and a son named Jermaine Jr.

What is the net worth of Jermaine O’Neal?

Currently, he is reportedly worth about $70 million, and this is due largely to the fact that he is not earning huge sums of money from his contracts anymore as he is retired. It is also worth noting also that he is a philanthropist who has decided to help better and improve the lives of young kids in his community and all other parts of America through his sports Foundation.

He has a very good height

A good height is a given for an NBA player and Jermaine stood at an impressive height of 6 feet and 11 inches (2.11 meters) and clocked a weight of 116 Kilograms (about 255 lbs) then.

Unknown facts about him

Family!!!! #HappyNewYear pic.twitter.com/Va61PgG07V

— Jermaine O'Neal (@jermaineoneal) January 2, 2016

1. He was the youngest NBA Player at a time

Jermaine O’Neal began his NBA career quite early, and as at the time he played his first professional game in the NBA in December 1996, he did so when he was exactly 18 years and 53 days – which at the time made him the youngest player ever to play in an NBA game. He held this record for about 9 years before he was replaced by Andrew Bynum who played his own first NBA game at 18 years and 6 days.

2. His daughter is also an athlete

Jermaine’s first child and daughter, Asija O’Neal is also an athlete just like her father, but she is not a basketball player like her dad, choosing instead to play volleyball and she is on her way to becoming a household name in the sport. She recently had her second heart surgery to correct a defect, and we can only expect her game to improve going forward.

3. He built a 91,000 square foot Sports training facility

Not very many athletes, who have made it big time in their careers chose to give back to their community and mankind at large, and Jermaine is not one of those individuals. He decided to build the 91,000 square foot Drive Nation Sports Training facility, which is located on the premises of the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport and was believed to have been built at a cost of about $13 million. The facility includes amenities such as a 10,000 square foot synthetic turf (for American Football and Soccer), 40,000 square foot Volleyball and Basketball courts, State-of-the-art performance centre and several others.

4. Jermaine O’Neal missed the chance to win a championship ring

The dream of every professional basketball player is to win the NBA Championship and get a Championship ring to show for his efforts. Unfortunately for Jermaine and despite having a very impressive career, he missed out on the opportunity of winning the championship with the Golden State Warriors because he chose not to return back to the team (when he should have) after recovering from a major injury, rather deciding to spend precious time with his family – especially his children; his decision really upset him when his team went on to become champions, but some words of encouragement from his daughter on the value she placed on the time he spent with them, helped him get over this disappointment really quick.

5. An indiscretion almost ruined his career

Sometime in 1994, Jermaine O’Neal (then 16) and his then-girlfriend – who was 15, were caught by her father naked in bed together. The incident got to the attention of the District Attorney at the time who for some reasons decided not to prosecute him for rape, thereby saving his career before it even took off.

Complete profile of Jermaine O’Neal