Shaquille O’Neal has a great bond with Angel Reese. So much so that he considers Reese as his seventh child. But he doesn’t dare to make it more than what it is. You do that and you have no place in the 4x NBA champ’s life. The discussion started with Shaq explaining why he fails to see any context behind emotional cheating. He further highlighted how, at times, people who don’t fully know you would take a certain thing about you and blow it out of proportion without getting the context. The big man believes such people are not worth staying with.

The explanation for Reese, on her podcast Unapologetically Angel, started with Shaq asking how many times has he told Angel that he loves her. The response, naturally, was a lot many times. Based on this, the 4x NBA explained how a person who knows him would not judge him, knowing “Shaq is Angel’s mentor, he would never even cross that line with her.” But any person who makes this pure bond weird, O’Neal, wants him to “get out” in the first instance.

If Shaquille O’Neal’s partner or, let’s say, his romantic interest, has a question about why he’d say he loves Reese, then what? He explained the situation as “I do love her. I love her as a daughter. I love her as a beautiful black woman who is making it. But obviously you (the suspicious person) don’t know me… If you think I’m messing with Angel Reese, you don’t know me. Get out.” 

The bond between Shaq and Reese was used by the big man to make it relatable for Angel to understand. His final advice came down to, “If you’re going to be in a relationship with a person, know them…” The analogy makes sense, taking into consideration the deep bond the two stars share. The fact that the Chicago Sky rookie expected the 52-year-old to take a stand against one of his closest friends, Charles Barkley, shows the depth and trust the two hold for each other.

The time when Angel Reese was mad at Shaquille O’Neal for not standing up for her against Barkley

It all started with allegations of other WNBA athletes hating Caitlin Clark. And visible intentional hard fouls against the 2024 WNBA Rookie of the Year. Barkley finally had enough of it and went on a rant during an appearance on a podcast. “You women out there, y’all petty…. These girls hating on Caitlin Clark – You’re all are petty girls,” he said. The comments, naturally, did not sit down well with Reese, who has been known to be a college-time rival of Clark.

Shaq, talking about it later on in his Big Podcast with Shaq, shared that Reese was quite mad at him for not saying anything to Chuck. He, however, explained that his co-host took that segment, so he spoke to Barkley later. But the 4x NBA champ did not stop from doubling down on his disagreement in a more official manner.

In a later interview with USA Today, he clarified, “Loudmouths like Chuck are talking about hating — it’s not hating. It’s like, you’re good, but let’s slow it down a notch.” According to Shaq, it’s all about a bit of professional jealousy.

While the two opinions are debatable, let’s focus on the fact that Shaquille O’Neal actually stood up for Reese against one of his close friends. Now, it makes sense when Shaq says on Unapologetically Angel that someone who cannot grasp the depth of his pure bond with Reese should refrain from forming opinions.