"I guarantee you": Jason Whitlock boldly affirms Shaquille O'Neal offended Angel Reese with NBA player comparison
Shaquille O'Neal was Angel Reese’s guest in the latest episode of her podcast, “Unapologetically Angel,” on Friday. The Chicago Sky All-Star asked her mentor for any basketball advice before her second year in the WNBA. Shaq told her to focus on “two go-to moves” to be impactful on offense.
The legendary LA Lakers center called Reese “the female Antawn Jamison,” who O’Neal said piled up 20K points with a unique shot. He told her to concentrate on her style, as not everyone could emulate NBA great Steph Curry.
Jason Whitlock, on his “Fearless” podcast, reacted to O’Neal’s comments and said:
“Shaq compared Angel Reese to Antawn Jamison and I guarantee you Angel Reese was offended. She thinks she is one of the best players to grace the earth. Antawn Jamison isn’t even in anybody’s Top 200 NBA All-Time greats.”
Whitlock added that Shaquille O'Neal called Angel Reese a “role player, not a star, certainly not a superstar” for comparing her to Antawn Jamison. The veteran sports journalist continued that O’Neal’s comments were a “slam” to the WNBA player’s face.
Reese finished runner-up to Caitlin Clark in the 2024 WNBA Rookie of the Year race. The biggest weakness in Reese’s game is her inefficient scoring even when near the basket. She led the league in rebounding with 13.1 rebounds per game but was criticized for padding her stats by securing her own misses. The “Chi Barbie” shot 39.1% from attempts mainly within five feet of the basket.
O’Neal compared Reese to Antawn Jamison because he claimed Jamison made a living scoring with flip shots. Jamison, though, had a smooth mid-range jumper and floater. The Chicago Sky star has plenty of work to do to come close to Jamison's game on offense.
Shaquille O'Neal compared Angel Reese to Antawn Jamison months before appearing on her podcast
Three months ago, on his show “The Big Podcast with Shaq,” Shaquille O'Neal first compared Angel Reese to Antawn Jamison. The four-time NBA champ had this to say why he sees similarities in their games:
“I want you to look at Antawn Jamison’s stats. All her moves are like flip shots. … Antawn Jamison, his whole career, was floaters and flip shots, and I know he has 20K points.
“For a lot of people, ‘Oh, her game is not complete. She can’t do much offense.’ Listen, 25 (points) and 16 (rebounds), you don’t need a lot of offensive game.” (48:20 mark)
Shaquille O'Neal’s advice makes sense, but only time will tell if Reese can improve her game before her sophomore season in the WNBA.