As soon as The Big Podcast returned from its brief break, Shaquille O’Neal was put on the spot. With everything that transpired over the last couple of weeks, Adam Lefkoe had a burning question for Shaq. He had to pick among the two most talked-about rookies in the WNBA right now and a newly-minted Laker. O’Neal refers to Angel Reese as his ‘niece’; counsels her when the negative attention goes overboard, and defends her regarding all the Caitlin Clark drama. On the other hand, he has known Bronny James since he was a child, was teammates with his dad, and Bronny is one of the closest friends of Shaq’s kids.

So when Lefkoe asked who among Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, and Bronny James would Shaq pick “right now to get a break from the public scrutiny,” he went on a spiel explaining what the WNBA rookies are experiencing before stating his definitive answer. “I would like the scrutiny to get off Bronny James.”

His reasoning stems from his affection for LeBron James’ son as well as what he’s probably seen Shareef go through when he was in the NBA draft. “My nephew, he’s a kid, great kid. All he wants to do is play. It’s unfortunate for kids like ours they have to live up to what we have done,” he added.

At the time of this recording, the NBA draft had not begun. On Thursday, the Lakers exercised their second-round pick to select Bronny 55th overall. His hard work and focus on the game was something attested by GM Rob Pelinka too. “It became clear that he was a man of character,” he said speaking of draft workout experience. “He’s not a person that is ever taking short cuts or expected or been entitled about basketball opportunities.”

If LeBron declines his player option, he and Bronny could be the first father-son duo at the same time on the same team next season. NBA stars are celebratory and ecstatic for Bronny. However, social media users trolled the 19-year-old as a poster child for nepotism.

Before Bronny, his friend Shareef O’Neal went undrafted in 2022 and played in the G-League. He received similar attention then but he’s thick-skinned to it. When Myles is pursuing music or Taahirah is involved in Shaq’s business empire, they get similar scrutiny too. Knowing there’s no escaping the nepo-baby accusations, Shaq always gave them positive advice which Bronny can take heed of. His advice to his kids has always been, “you don’t have to be like me, I want you to be better than me.” He expects them to learn from his mistakes and be themselves. Something he also advises his ‘niece.’

Shaq protects his niece too

Not that Shaq abandoned Angel. He defended her from criticism during her 2023 NCAA drama before they met officially. When Reese missed several games last season, she was trolled mercilessly over unfounded rumors. Upon her return, she credited Shaq for his encouragement through that ordeal.

The scrutiny since arriving in the WNBA has been different. But the debate surrounding Clark and Reese, according to Shaq is different. He calls it a rite of passage for rookies to be roughed up as a welcome to the league and a process through which they’ll go stronger. He says that’s a thing everywhere and perhaps even Bronny will go through it despite his teammate-dad.

Even then, the last episode he defended Reese and Kamilla Cardoso against all the villainizing with some backup from Shareef. It’s proof that Shaq has his nephew and niece’s back at all times.

Stay tuned for more such updates, and to follow what Shaq’s ex-agent, Leonard Armato, has to say about the infamous Shaq-Kobe feud, Caitlin Clark’s Olympic snub, and more, watch this video.