Shaquille O’Neal, a women’s basketball fan, has her own ideas on how to increase interest in the WNBA. He shared one of the ideas with Chicago Sky’s new star Angel Reese, but received a hostile response.
In an interview this week on Reese’s podcast, “Unapologetically Angel,” O’Neal brought up the outfits Reese wore off the court and mentioned it as a possible business strategy for Reese and others to sell more product.
The outfit O’Neal was referring to was the gray long-sleeve top and gray shorts that Reese wore when she appeared on the sketch comedy and battle rap improvisational game show “Nick Cannon Presents: Wild ‘N Out.” Ta.
“Imagine if you wore the same little shorts you wore to the Wild ‘N Out dunk show. How many T-shirts would you sell?” O’Neal suggested to Reese during the podcast. .
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Angel Reese attends Game 5 of the 2024 WNBA Finals between the Minnesota Lynx and New York Liberty on October 20, 2024 in Brooklyn, New York (Melanie Fiddler/NBAE via Getty Images)
Reese reacted enthusiastically to this suggestion, exclaiming at the top of her lungs, “I’m not imagining anything!”
But O’Neill was stubborn.
“These are the same little shorts I wore in ‘Wild ‘n Out.’ … I’m just saying,” he repeated.
Reese immediately stopped the conversation, changed the subject, yelled, “I got it, I got it, I got it, I got it,” and cut me off and refused to let me continue.
O’Neal’s comments came after he suggested another way to improve WNBA ratings would be to lower the basket so more players can dunk.
“Brothers, first of all, I love that you’re starting to get interested in fashion,” Shaq said. “Bro, see that cute girl dunking on the rim? I’ve been watching that all day.”
Inside the impact of Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese on men’s basketball
Reese pushed back, saying she didn’t believe women’s dunks would make much of a difference and that she “hated it when men said that.”
“I feel like it’s not enough. It’s never enough,” Reese said. “People always disrespect women regardless. Women don’t always give us the same value as men. So I don’t think so.”
Reese’s appearance in “Wild’n Out” received mixed reviews from fans.
Hip-hop artist and media mogul Joe Budden slammed Reese for his controversial off-court appearance during an episode of the Joe Budden Podcast.
“I’ve seen Angel Reese go wild. I don’t know if I saw her in Wild ‘n Out,” Budden said. “Angel Reese doesn’t let her sit down. … She doesn’t want to sit anywhere for a second. There’s value in that.
“When I say this, it may sound like I’m telling women what to do, but I’m not.”
Team WNBA’s Angel Reese during a game against the U.S. Basketball Women’s Team during the 2024 WNBA All-Star Game at Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona on July 20, 2024. (Tyler Kaufman/NBAE via Getty Images)
Budden also compared Reese’s off-court habits to longtime rival and fellow rising star Caitlin Clark.
“Whoever[Reese]is is telling her to show up everywhere. Caitlin Clark’s people are not saying this to be racist. . . . “I’m just riding a rookie,” he said.
Reese’s desire to express her feelings despite fearing public backlash dates back to her performance in the 2023 NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship game, which the LSU Tigers won over Clark’s Iowa Hawkeyes. It’s about the time.
After the match, Reese taunted Clark by pointing his finger at him, reminding him who would get the championship ring. The moment went viral and sparked a heated debate between Reese’s fans and Clark’s fans, who have grown increasingly heated as they made their way through the WNBA’s first season.
Reese launched his own podcast before the end of his rookie season and continued to publish weekly episodes even after the WNBA season ended early due to a wrist injury in early September.
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Angel Reese (right) and Caitlin Clark during the second half at Wintrust Arena in Chicago on June 23, 2024. (Melissa Tamez/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
The podcast claims fans of rival player Caitlin Clark sent her death threats and created explicit AI images to send to her family, including on the first episode in which she spoke out against fans. has also been controversial.
In the latest episode, Reese interviewed Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce’s ex-girlfriend about their past relationships. The interview sparked a storm of criticism, especially from fans of Kelsey’s new girlfriend, Taylor Swift.
Still, Reese’s presence and personality are drawing more attention and fans to women’s basketball, even though she has yet to change her wardrobe on the court. Although Clark is considered the main reason for the recent explosion in popularity of women’s basketball at the collegiate and professional levels, the Reese-Clark rivalry adds another dimension that appeals to fans.
Reese has more social media followers than Clark, with 1.4 million more followers on Instagram, 170,700 more followers on X, and a whopping 4.11 million more followers on TikTok. Reese’s willingness to express himself off the court may be a big reason why. Clark was more reserved professionally.
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Jackson Thompson is a sports writer for Fox News Digital. He previously worked at ESPN and Business Insider. Jackson covered the Super Bowl and NBA Finals and interviewed iconic figures Usain Bolt, Rob Gronkowski, Jerry Rice, Troy Aikman, Mike Trout, David Ortiz, and Roger Clemens.
