The LSU has produced several exceptional players over the years. Whether it was the legendary Pete Maravich, who made the record for the all-time points leader in the NCAA in 1970, or Lolo Jones who brought two golds for America in the World Indoor Championships in 2008 and 2010. Hence, when Flau’jae Johnson sat with a fellow LSU baller to discuss the best LSU graduates, the latter had nothing but reverence for athletes. However, when she was asked to rank them, she snubbed Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese while giving important positions to her Uncle Shaquille O’Neal and Johnson.

Reese has fantastic stats at LSU. She had transferred to LSU from the Maryland Terrapins during the 2022-23 season and instantly won hearts with her double-double tally. She took the Lady Tigers to an NCAA Championship title that season under the guidance of Kim Mulkey. Over two years, she also emerged as a rival to the WNBA’s number-one pick, Caitlin Clark.

Johnson was present along with Mikaylah Williams in a chat session during Best of Both Worlds with Flau’jae on Thursday when she asked the LSU guard to rank her top-five LSU graduates. “Next we gonna do rank these players without knowing who comes next LSU edition,” Johnson stated. And fans were shocked to see the rankings by Williams, who, in March, had bagged the SEC Freshman of the Year alongside Reese’s SEC Player of the Year. When asked where ranks Shaq, Williams replied without hesitation. “one.” Williams replied.

There is no denying that he is one of the best LSU legends who went on to win 4x NBA Championships. He played for the Tigers from 1989-1992. He won the SEC Player of the Year twice during his time and secured the Adolph Rupp Trophy in 1991. Next, as Johnson took her own name for the second position, Williams emphatically supported that. But not only the first two positions, Reese was not even considered for the top five during the conversation.

Miami Dolphins wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. took the third position while the Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow and current LSU basketball assistant coach Seimone Augustus took 4th and 5th places, respectively. While we have yet to see how big Johnson will make in the coming days, she has undoubtedly started to make her mark in the LSU basketball picture. In fact, she has already started visualizing herself in Angel Reese’s shoes.

“I’m an upperclassman now, but I’m just focusing on being in the best shape that I [can], definitely just being more consistent with my shot. I know the system, I know what I have to do. So, it’s just about being a consistent player and now taking on a leadership role. Angel is no longer there, it’s now me. I just have to take that on and try to be the best leader that I can,” Johnson was quoted as saying in a September 26 article by Fox News.

Johnson entered the NCAA during the 2022-23 season, the same year when they clinched the NCAA Championship. In that freshman year, she started in all 36 games for LSU, earning the SEC Freshman of the Year honor while averaging 11.0 points and 5.9 rebounds per game in LSU’s first National Championship run. In her sophomore year, Johnson significantly improved on her stats.

Playing 36 games, she started in 34, averaging 14.9 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 2.1 steals, and 1.0 blocks per game to earn a spot on the Second Team All-SEC. Notably, there has been a lot of speculation about Johnson’s perceived rift with Angel Reese. During the debut episode of her “Unapologetically Angel” podcast, Reese broke her silence on the perceived rift between her and Johnson.

“We aren’t as close as we used to be … there’s no hard feelings. I’m always going to support her,” Reese had stated, adding that friendships tend to naturally evolve as time moves on. On the other hand, Johnson had praised Reese for the heights she reached during her first season in the WNBA.

“I think it’s historic. But she did everything that I thought she was going to go do. I’m just proud of her,” Johnson had said Fox News Digital. Interestingly, like Angel Reese, Johnson has also successfully built her NIL profile, and she is navigating it like a pro alongside her game on the court. She is also one athlete featured in Prime Video’s six-part docuseries “The Money Game,” alongside Angel Reese, among others. Johnson hoped that the docuseries might help do away with several misconceptions about NIL.

“They are just going to see that [NIL] is just a positive thing. A lot of people had a lot to say about how [NIL] could ruin the locker room or how it could hurt [amateur] players, but I think it’s just athletes getting what they deserve,” Johnson had said. Although we do not know whether the much-speculated ‘rift’ between the two has anything to do with this ranking, the top pick in it considers Reese a significant player.

Shaquille O’Neal had picked Angel Reese over himself

Shaq has been so close a mentor to Reese, selected sixth in the 2024 WNBA Draft, that the latter calls him her uncle. Even when Reese was going through a troubled time after facing backlash for her antics against Clark, Shaq had come forward to support her. Not only that but the 52-year-old regards Reese as a better college player than him.

After LSU had clinched the Championship title in 2023, Shaq on his podcast had ranked Reese as the  “greatest athlete” to have ever played at LSU. As per the 3× NBA Finals MVP, the reason behind it was simple: Reese had helped the LSU clinch the Championship title and in basketball, apart from individual skills, what matters most is the number of rings a player has.

“She’s probably the greatest athlete ever to come out of LSU sports. You heard it here first. Male and female. Ever,” Shaq had opined. The 2000 MVP concluded by enumerating “She delivered that package. See, a lot of us got the package, and we still got the package in our truck. She delivered that package.” Reese did not just help her team win the Champions trophy. She also bagged 34 double-doubles which was a single-season record NCAA D1 record. Diesel caught attention for accompanying Reese to the LSU women’s basketball senior ceremony in March, and many wondered if she and the NBA Hall of Famer are related.

However, they are not. Shaq has turned Reese’s mentor after the pair met at an American Football game at LSU. The veteran does not shy away from expressing her affection for the budding talent. This year in July, when Reese received the BET Award for Sportswoman of the Year, Shaq was quick to share that on her social media. Reese is also equally elated to have Shaq as her father figure in the sport.

“He’s super inspiring to me. He’s so genuine, he’s been there for me through tough times. He just gets it, and there’s not a more perfect person for me to be tight with. We have fun, and if I need anything, he would help me … and he would do that even if I never played basketball again. He doesn’t care about me as a player, he cares about me as a person,” Reese had said in an interview with USA Today. With that on her side, maybe she can use her WNBA stint to prove that she is indeed one of the most prolific stars to have come out of LSU.