Shaquille O’Neal makes his living making provocative comments as a basketball analyst.
But O’Neal dropped a whopper Tuesday on The Big Podcast With Shaq. O’Neal and podcast partner Nischelle Turner were talking about LSU superstar Angel Reese, who recently led the Tigers to the women’s national basketball championship.
Turner began talking about Reese’s competitiveness, when O’Neal interrupted her.
“She’s probably the greatest athlete to ever come out of LSU sports,” O’Neal said. “You heard it here first. Male or female.”
“The best? Yourself included?” Turner said.
“Yes,” O’Neal said. “Because she delivered that package (national championship). A lot of us got that package and we still got the package in our truck. But she delivered that package. There’s a lot of names you could throw around, men and women but she’s probably the greatest athlete to ever come out of LSU because she got it done.”
“Joe Burrow got it done a couple of years ago, but she’s way more athletic than he is.”
"She's probably the greatest athlete to come out of LSU sports. Man and female."
– Shaq on Angel Reese
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) April 11, 2023
It’s quite a proclamation by O’Neal, and you could argue there’s some recency bias involved. O’Neal himself was a two-time All-American at LSU who went on to make the Pro Basketball Hall of Fame. And it’s hard to forget “Pistol” Pete Maravich, a fellow Hall of Famer who averaged 44.2 points per game in his LSU career — a record that still stands more than 50 years later.
O’Neal alluded to Burrow, of course, but the Tigers also sent a bevy of other recent stars to the NFL, notably Ja’Marr Chase, Leonard Fournette, and Patrick Peterson.
Sports fans for the most part thought Shaq went a bit too far in his praise for Reese.
I know we’re pushing womens sports at an all time high but this is just too far
— choc (@choc) April 11, 2023
Yeah don’t get it twisted with her performance debut. She broke records this season. 34 out 36 games in a season were double doubles. It wasn’t like 10 and 10, she averaged 23pts and 15 rebounds with a 52.5 FG%. You don’t even hear those stats often in the nba much less wnba.
— Doc. (@TheDamDocta) April 11, 2023
Pistol Pete averaged 50 with no 3 pt line
— Danny Jansen Fan Club (@DannyIcymvpszn4) April 11, 2023
Joe Burrow or Pistol Pete by miles
— Lucas P (@LucasPeter2017) April 11, 2023
…four months ago, not a single person knew who she was. I get it, she’s good but this comment was horrible.
— Daniel Fortney (@FxxTrot) April 11, 2023
Joe Burrow way way above
— sportzjunkman (@sportzjunkman) April 11, 2023
Shaq was big. Not an athlete
— djbrooks (@mallory131313) April 11, 2023
