Legendary LSU Basketball player Shaquille O’Neal said on his podcast titled “The Big Podcast with Shaq” that Angel Reese is the greatest athlete LSU has ever had, regardless of gender.
Shaq’s statements were sparked by internet personalities Dave Portnoy and Keith Olberman, who criticized Reese on Twitter after she taunted Iowa’s Caitlin Clark toward the end of the game. To which Shaq immediately came to Reese’s defense…
“She’s probably the greatest athlete to ever come out of LSU sports. You heard it here first. Male and Female…She delivered. She delivered that package…See, a lot of us have got the package, and we still got the package in our truck.”
Recently, Reese led the Tigers to their first national championship on April 2, scoring 15 points and grabbing ten rebounds in the title game against Iowa. She averaged 23 points and 15.4 rebounds this season, also setting the NCAA Division I record for double-doubles in a single season. Reese was named the NCAA tournament’s Most Outstanding Player as well.
O’Neal continued to even rank Reese above himself while also giving an acknowledgment to Tigers quarterback Joe Burrow, who won a national title and the Heisman Trophy in 2019.
“Joe Burrow got it done a couple of years ago, but she’s way more athletic than he is,” added O’Neal.
While Shaq could add himself to the conversation, his failure to secure a championship eliminates him from the discussion.
In response to the publicity, Reese noticed Shaq’s remark adding to the Twitter thread, “Yeah, my uncle Shaq don’t play about me. Period.”
Despite Reese only having spent just one year in Baton Rouge after transferring from Maryland ahead of the 2022-23 season, Reese has made a big impact on the LSU Tigers and is expected to do great things to come.
