As a fan of women’s basketball, Shaquille O’Neal has his own ideas about how to generate more interest in the WNBA. He shared one of those ideas with Chicago Sky rookie star Angel Reese, and he got a hostile response.
During an interview on Reese’s podcast “Unapologetically Angel” this week, O’Neal brought up an outfit Reese wore off the court and referenced it as a potential business strategy for Reese and others to sell more merchandise.
The outfit O’Neal referenced was a gray long-sleeve top with short, gray shorts Reese wore during an appearance on “Nick Cannon Presents: Wild ‘n Out,” a sketch comedy and battle rap improv game show.
“Imagine you had on the same little shorts you had on at ‘Wild ‘n Out’ show dunking. How many T-shirts you gon’ 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 the New York Liberty Oct. 20, 2024, in Brooklyn, N.Y. (Melanie Fidler/NBAE via Getty Images)
The suggestion prompted an impassioned response from Reese, who raised her voice and exclaimed that she’s “not imagining anything!”
But O’Neal was insistent.
“The same little shorts you had on at ‘Wild ‘n Out.’ … I’m just saying,” he repeated.
Reese didn’t wait long to shut the conversation down and change the topic, yelling “OK, all right, all right, all right” to interrupt and stop him from continuing.
O’Neal’s comments came after he had suggested another way to improve WNBA viewership would be to lower the basket, so more players could dunk.
Bro, first of all, I like how y’all are starting to get into fashion,” Shaq said. “Bro, a pretty girl dunking on the rim? I’m watching that all day.”
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Reese pushed back, saying she did not believe women dunking was going to make much of a difference and hates “when men say that.”
“I feel like it still wouldn’t be good enough. It’s never good enough,” Reese said. “People always disrespect women regardless. They are always going to not give us the same value as a man. So I don’t think that.”
Reese’s appearance on “Wild ‘n Out” drew mixed reviews from fans.
Hip-hop artist and media mogul Joe Budden spoke out against Reese for making the appearance and drawing off-court controversy to herself during an episode “The Joe Budden Podcast.”
“I’ve seen Angel Reese wildin’ out. I don’t know if I’ve seen her on ‘Wild ’n Out,'” Budden said. “Angel Reese won’t sit her f—-in’ a– down. … She won’t go sit down somewhere for a second. There’s value in it.
“This is going to sound like I’m telling women what to do. But I ain’t.”
Angel Reese of Team WNBA during a game against the USA Basketball women’s team during the 2024 WNBA All-Star Game July 20, 2024, at Footprint Center in Phoenix, Ariz. (Tyler Kaufman/NBAE via Getty Images)
Budden also compared Reese’s off-the-court habits to her longtime rival and fellow rookie star Caitlin Clark’s.
“Whoever [Reese] got is telling her to go pop up everywhere. That’s not what Caitlin Clark’s people are saying, not to make it racial. … We just on some star rookie s— now,” he said.
Reese’s willingness to express herself despite the fear of public backlash dates back to her performance in the 2023 NCAA women’s basketball championship game, when her LSU Tigers beat Clark’s Iowa Hawkeyes for the title that year.
At the end of the game, Reese mocked Clark by pointing at her finger to remind her who was getting the championship ring. It was a moment that went viral and sparked a heated debate between Reese fans and Clark fans that has only gotten hotter as they’ve made it through their first WNBA season.
Reese launched her own podcast before she was even done with her rookie season and has kept releasing episodes every week even after her 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 June 23, 2024 at Wintrust Arena in Chicago. (Melissa Tamez/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
The podcast has stirred controversy multiple times, including the first episode when she spoke out against fans of rival player Caitlin Clark, alleging they had sent her death threats and made explicit AI images of her and sent them to her family.
In her most recent episode, Reese interviewed the ex-girlfriend of Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce about their past relationship. The interview drew a flurry of criticism, particularly from fans of Kelce’s new girlfriend, Taylor Swift.
Still, Reese’s presence and personality has drawn more attention and fans to women’s basketball, even if she hasn’t altered her wardrobe on the court yet. While Clark is credited as being primarily responsible for the recent explosion in popularity for women’s basketball at the college and pro levels, the Reese-Clark rivalry has added another dimension and draw for fans.
Reese has more followers on social media than Clark, with 1.4 million more followers on Instagram, 170,700 more followers on X and a staggering 4.11 million more on TikTok. Reese’s willingness to express herself off the court could be a big reason why. Clark has been more reserved as a pro.
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