Shaquille O’Neal Calls Angel Reese the ‘Greatest Athlete’ to Ever Come from LSU: ‘Male or Female’

Shaquille O'Neal, Angel Reese

Shaquille O’Neal shared a bold take on LSU star Angel Reese during a recent episode of his podcast.

On this week’s episode of The Big Podcast with Shaq, the NBA legend, 51, said it’s possible that Reese, 20, is the best athlete to play for Louisiana State University.

“She’s probably the greatest athlete to ever come out of LSU sports,” O’Neal said. “You heard it here first. Male or female.”

That’s quite the honor from an athlete as legendary as O’Neal, an LSU alumnus himself. Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow, MLB star Alex Bregman and ‘Pistol’ Pete Maravich are also on the list of the school’s notable athletic alumni.

Burrow, who won the Hesiman trophy in 2019, “got it done a couple of years ago,” O’Neal said, “but she’s way more athletic than he is.”

O’Neal explained, “She delivered. She delivered that package. See, a lot of us got the package, and we still got the package in our truck. She delivered that package.”

Reese, a sophomore, has had O’Neal’s support since she helped lead the LSU Tigers to the 2023 NCAA Championship this month. After she became the subject of harsh criticism for her taunts of Iowa star Caitlin Clark, O’Neal defended her on social media and in interviews.

“When you’re a champion, you’re allowed to TYS: talk your stuff,” O’Neal told PEOPLE the morning after the game.

O’Neal, who thought this year’s women’s Final Four was “the best Final Four in sports history,” said he reached out to Reese personally to tell her not to worry about the naysayers.

“I talked to Angel yesterday. I said, ‘Hey, you’re a champion. Enjoy being a champion and have fun.’ ”

Punkie Johnson playing LSU's Angel Reese on SNL

The NBA on TNT analyst first came to Reese’s defense after the game in response to sports reporter Keith Olbermann’s heavily-criticized tweet calling her an “idiot” for her taunts to Clark. “Shut your dumb a– up leave Angel Reese alone,” O’Neal wrote on Sunday.

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Reese reposted the tweet and wrote, “yeah my uncle shaq don’t play bout me. period.”

Reese was named the 2023 Most Outstanding Player in the NCAA Tournament. She scored a double-double in every game, according to the Sporting News.