‘He’s Been There For Me Through Tough Times’: LSU’s Angel Reese Talks About Support From Shaquille O’Neal

Louisiana State University women’s basketball player Angel Reese sat down with USA Today for an interview on Jan. 25. She opened up about her journey through adversity at LSU and how NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal supported her through it all. 

Reese explained that Shaq has been a powerful positive presence in her life as the “Bayou Barbie” has risen to stardom as a forward on the court. She revealed that Shaq has been a “father figure” for her, who has made it a point to watch most of her games. She told the outlet that he constantly pushes her to be better by giving her impressive goal stats to hit during the games she plays. 

Shaq and Reese met initially through LSU’s assistant coach Bob Starkey after he told O’Neal — who he also used to coach — that Reese would be a good candidate for the Authentic Brands Group. Authentic Brands Group is an enterprise that represents and markets top-notch athletes, and Shaq is heavily involved with them. 

Starkey explained, “There’s really strong parallels in their personalities. They love people, they welcome the spotlight that comes with stardom, they both have a great love for this school and an enthusiasm for life.” 

He continued, “It’s incredibly important to me that I know Angel has Shaquille every step of the way. Shaquille is an incredibly loyal person. When Shaquille is in your camp, he’s 10 toes in. Even when Angel was going through some difficulties earlier this season, he was right there for her. Where some companies might want to distance themselves from negative (attention), not Shaquille. He’s going to be there for her forever.” 

Ever since meeting, Reese and O’Neal have maintained a strong mentor relationship. Reese hosted O’Neal’s daughter, Me’Arah, for an official visit to the LSU campus, and Reese even admitted that she’s going to ask Shaq to be a guest for her Senior’s Day activities — which is typically an invitation for only family members of students. 

Reese told USA Today that amid all her drama at LSU, Shaq advised her to stay off social media and keep hustling.

“He’s super inspiring to me. He’s so genuine, he’s been there for me through tough times. He just gets it, and there’s not a more perfect person for me to be tight with. We have fun, and if I need anything, he would help me … and he would do that even if I never played basketball again,” Reese expressed. 

“He doesn’t care about me as a player, he cares about me as a person. One thing I always remember he said is, I have the world at my fingertips. I could post right now on Instagram that I bought a million-dollar home and people are going to believe it, because that’s how social media works. So when all of that was happening, he was coaching me up.”

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