Angel Reese responds to Shaq naming her LSU's 'greatest athlete ever'

Angel Reese isn’t ready to declare herself the greatest athlete in LSU history despite an endorsement from Shaquille O’Neal. The Tigers women’s basketball star and recent national champion appeared on “The Breakfast Club” on Monday morning, saying she feels she still has work to do to earn that title.

Reese revealed during the interview that she had a conversation with Shaq after his comments, letting him know her stance. But O’Neal stood firm in his opinion.

“I called him after that like, ‘you know know how much pressure you put on me? You know how much?'” Reese said. “He was like, ‘I don’t give a f***.’

“…I feel like I haven’t done nothing yet, so I told him, ‘don’t even say that.’ I won a championship, but I just don’t feel like I’ve done enough. I didn’t even realize how much weight (a championship) holds. If I go to Year 2 and I dominate — we dominate — yeah, OK.”

Reese transferred to LSU from Maryland this past season and put together an impressive season in leading the Tigers to the title. She led the SEC with 23 points and 15.4 rebounds per game, set an NCAA women’s record with 34 double-doubles and was named the NCAA Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player. However, she did not win Player of the Year as that honor went to Iowa‘s Caitlin Clark.

That’s one area where Shaq has the edge over Reese. He was a two-time SEC Player of the Year at LSU in addition to winning the Adolph Rupp Player of the Year. However, he never won a championship.

Former Tigers quarterback Joe Burrow won both a national championship and the Heisman Trophy at LSU in 2019. But O’Neal said he would still put Reese above Burrow due to her being more athletic.

Reese listed winning Player of the Year as one of her goals for next season, along with claiming another title. If she can achieve that, then she will consider revisiting the conversation.

“I feel like I’m getting the Joe Burrow treatment,” she said. “But another championship and maybe a Player of the Year would hold some weight.”

Shaq calls Angel Reese ‘the greatest athlete to come out of LSU sports’

O’Neal made his claim earlier this month on his podcast, The Big Podcast with Shaq. He made sure to clarify that the declaration applied to all LSU athletes, regardless of gender.

“She’s probably the greatest athlete to ever come out of LSU sports. You heard it here first. Man and female,” O’Neal said. “Guess what? 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. 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 with some high praise for a fellow LSU athlete 👀

(via The Big Pod) pic.twitter.com/oR5AmC19rR

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 11, 2023

Shaq’s comments stirred up some interesting conversation, with Olympic athlete and LSU alum Lolo Jones even weighing in. But while Reese might not be there yet even in her eyes, she has the chance to further strengthen her case next season.