“Can You Smile a Little Bit?”: WNBA Superstar and Shaquille O’Neal Ooze Pure Class After ‘Niece’ Angel Reese & LSU’s Disheartening Upset vs Colorado

When the LSU Tigers and Colorado Buffs faced off at the T-Mobile Arena, Shaquille O’Neal was there to cheer for one team. He was on his school’s side and rooting for them to win. While the Tigers suffered an upsetting loss, he’s not wallowing in misery anytime soon. Instead, he went over to the other side to commend the talent. And he was not alone.

Joining him was a WNBA superstar who savored every bit of the game. And she wants to see the winners own their victory.

Shaquille O’Neal praises LSU rivals

The No.1 school, LSU Tigers were stunned in an upset loss to the No. 20 ranked Colorado Buffs. Shaquille O’Neal and his son, Shareef, were courtside rooting for Angel Reese’s squad. Though that 78-92 loss was not what he was hoping for, he knows a thing or two about being a good sport.

An update from the Buffs page showed Shaq arriving in the locker room to congratulate the winners. The whole interaction was summarized in the caption, “Big man, bigger win.”

He hugged Aaronette Vonleh and said, “Very proud of you.” The new center is bringing Shaq-grade energy to the team, recording 20 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists in this game. This dominant stalwart was the one guarding Shaquille O’Neal’s star “niece” Angel Reese and doing it phenomenally.

Shaq has memorably made Reese his first recruit as the president of Reebok’s basketball division. He even called her LSU’s GOAT over himself.

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So the talent Vonleh showed guarding the Tigers superstar even made the most dominant center in NBA history himself point at her and tell her coach, JR Payne, “I like her.” Coach Payne responded with, “Yeah, we do too.”

He told the other girls, “Good game,” which is a lot since he was hoping for LSU to win. He even left making, ‘I’m watching you’ gestures at Vonleh. Shaq wasn’t the only star in the locker room, though.

The Ace roots against Shaq’s team

Shaquille O’Neal is hoping Angel Reese brings LSU the championship this year too. But WNBA legend Candace Parker was hoping for another upset. The 3x WNBA champion was in the house as well. And she was so overwhelmed by the Buffs overturning the game that she couldn’t stop gushing about it.

Parker, who’s had her fair share of post-game interviews, however, did not like the seriousness of the team after they defeated the No.1 school. Speaking to the team coach, JR Payne, she said she saw the girls having a straight face while speaking to the media. And she felt like saying, “Can you smile a little bit? Y’all just upset the No.1,” to Payne’s squad.

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On her way out, she made her predictions known. “I hope to see you at the final four,” she told Coach Payne and her team. That’s a bold prediction if there is one. What are your predictions for these two favorites?