Shaquille O'Neal reveals Angel Reese dialed him up for not clapping back at Charles Barkley for comparing her to Caitlin Clark
Shaquille O'Neal famously made Angel Reese his first official signing with Reebok after the brand made him president of basketball operations. The two are perhaps LSU’s most famous stars and shared a bond first because of their roots in basketball. Shaq congratulated Reese on the signing and said that the former “Bayou Barbie” was making the biggest impact in basketball.
Reese joined the WNBA this year together with a star-studded class that included No. 1 pick and rival Caitlin Clark. The former Iowa superstar went to the Indiana Fever while the Chicago Sky picked the erstwhile Tiger. From college to the pros, the two have sustained their incredible rivalry.
Charles Barkley, Shaquille O'Neal’s good friend and TNT colleague, took a shot at Angel Reese in May. “Chuck” lambasted the Clark haters and called them “petty.” Barkley said that players should “thanking that girl for getting y’all a** private charters.”
On “The Big Podcast with Shaq,” O’Neal had this to say about what Angel Reese did after Barkley’s comments became viral:
(46:30 mark)
“She jumped on me, ‘Why don’t you say something to Charles [Barkley]? First of all, Charles took up the segment and I haven’t got the time to say anything but I talked to him afterwards. The ones that are sensitive are the ones that are more dominant.”
Shaquille O'Neal opened up on his advice to the self-proclaimed “Chi Barbie:”
“She has to learn the trials and tribulations of this thing. … She knows if she needs anything she can call me. I have to call her and say, ‘Stop reading comments. You don’t owe explanation to anybody.'"
Angel Reese took a shot at Charles Barkley on X, formerly Twitter, but later deleted the post.
"And that's getting a WIN in a packed (arena) not just cause of one player on our charter flight.”
Shaquille O'Neal added that he did not know how the WNBA Rookie of the Year race would be judged. But, he emphasized either Reese or Caitlin Clark could only set “separation” from the other based on how they do on the court. Shaq gave an example of how he and Christian Laettner were considered rivals then before the LA Lakers legend made the comparison silly.
Shaquille O'Neal compares Angel Reese’s game to that of Antawn Jamison
During the podcast, Shaquille O'Neal’s co-host Adam Lefkoe compared Angel Reese’s game to that of Dennis Rodman. Reese’s relentless motor and skills on the offensive glass were Lefkoe’s reasons for the comparison.
O’Neal has somebody else in mind when she watches Reese compete in the WNBA:
“She reminds me of Antawn Jamison. 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.”
Shaquille O'Neal went up against Antawn Jamison for the majority of their NBA careers and were teammates for one season in Cleveland. The “Big Diesel” couldn’t help but compare Angel Reese to her.