Shaq calls Angel Reese 'the greatest athlete to come out of LSU sports'
There have been a number of great athletes to come out of LSU, including Shaquille O’Neal. But in the opinion of Shaq, none have matched what women’s basketball star Angel Reese did in leading the Tigers to the national championship earlier this month.
In the latest episode of his podcast, The Big Podcast with Shaq, the Big Diesel made quite the claim about Reese, calling her the greatest athlete to ever play in Baton Rouge.
“She’s probably the greatest athlete to ever come out of LSU sports. You heard it here first. Man and female,” O’Neal said.
With that claim, O’Neal admitted that he would even rank Reese above himself. Shaq played three seasons for the Tigers from 1989-92, averaging 21.6 points 13.5 rebounds and 4.6 blocks before becoming the No. 1 pick in the 1992 NBA Draft. But he failed to win a championship in college, and he believes that’s what separates Reese from himself.
“Guess what? She delivered,” he said. “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. So, you know, there’s a lot of names you could throw around — men and women — but she’s probably the greatest athlete. Some people are going to exclude it to women athletes. I’m not doing that. She’s the greatest athlete to ever come out of LSU.”
Shaq even went as far as to say that Angel Reese is better than former Tigers quarterback Joe Burrow. Burrow won a championship with the Tigers in 2019, setting school single-season records with 5,671 yards and 60 touchdowns on his way to winning the Heisman Trophy. He later went on to become the No. 1 pick in the 2019 NFL Draft to the Cincinnati Bengals, leading them to a Super Bowl appearance in just his second season.
But O’Neal gave Reese the nod over Burrow because he sees her as “more athletic.”
“Joe Burrow got it done a couple of years ago, but she’s way more athletic than he is,” O’Neal said.
This past season was just Reese’s first with LSU after transferring from Maryland, but she has at least one more to go. In addition to the national title, she set the Division I Women’s record for triple-doubles with 34 this season and was named the Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA Tournament.
Reese led the SEC with 23.0 points and 15.4 rebounds per game and has already made the claim that she will led LSU to another title in 2023-24.
Angel Reese sees NIL valuation surpass $1 million following national championship
Reese’s national championship win and ensuing media attention has been very kind to her bank account. According to On3’s Pete Nakos, Reese’s NIL valuation has now surpassed the $1 million mark.
To put things in perspective, Reese has a valuation of $258,000 as of the beginning of February. Reese’s social following has more than tripled to 3.6 million since the Final Four.
Entering March Madness, the former Maryland transfer had a $371,000 On3 NIL Valuation. Her valuation now is $1.3 million, which is the top-ranked women’s basketball valuation. Reese also ranks No. 13 in the On3 NIL 100, which is the first of its kind and defacto NIL ranking of the top 100 high school and college athletes ranked by their On3 NIL Valuation.