“She reminds me of one of my babies,” Shaquille O’Neal said of Angel Reese in 2023. The Chicago Sky star, who has competed with Caitlin Clark since their high school days, has always received full backing from the NBA legend and her uncle. Despite the crowd favoring Clark for Rookie of the Year, Shaq will not deviate from his favorite mentee. And as the rivalry continues in the WNBA, O’Neal wouldn’t have it any other way.

What happens when you bring two powerhouses together on a single team? Well, Shaq doesn’t want to find out if it’s Reese and Clark. “I don’t want them together, I want them to battle against each other,” he says on the latest episode of ‘The Big Podcast With Shaq’. While he has watched both play in person and on TV and praised both for their individual talents, O’Neal wants the two to play on separate teams.

Talking about his own rivals and friends, including Alonzo Mourning, Shaq says, “In college, we got the championship, they didn’t. So now, the storyline could be Indiana is in the playoffs, Chicago…it’s a whole bunch of storylines and I think it’s very interesting. And I think it’s definitely elevated the women’s game.”

While the Sky rookie considers Shaq as something of a father figure, the NBA legend has reciprocated the love and respect for Reese. Interestingly, when Shaq recently watched a Fever game from courtside, he couldn’t help but be impressed with Clark’s skills.

Calling her “the real deal” afterward, O’Neal said on the podcast after clarifying that he was talking as a fan and not Shaq, “Caitlin plays the right way. I’ve seen her on TV and a lot of times we know that TV don’t really translate to the court. I saw her, she makes the right play, she makes her teammates better, she shoot the ball, she’s a great player. “

But then he plays the Devil’s Advocate. Despite heaping all that praise on her nemesis, the NBA legend clarifies, “Let’s not get it twisted – I’m Angel all day. I don’t want people to turn it one way and then she think I’m turning my back on her…I’m Angel Reese all day, don’t ever get it twisted.”

Now the 6-ft-2 forward is out of the season with a wrist injury and is likely not going to win the Rookie of the Year. And yet, going against the grain, Shaq has picked Reese over Clark yet again, and it’s not just because of their close relationship.

Despite ‘fabulous player’ Caitlin Clark’s dominance, Shaq is all in for Angel Reese

For many, the ROTY was always going to come down to Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark, despite the many new names sprinkled across the league in 2024. The competition started out close and went through a rollercoaster, but after the Olympics break, Clark cleared her name. But despite what the common consensus says, Shaq is not convinced.

“She made the comment the other day that she was born like this, and it’s true. Her mentality, the way she plays, no-nonsense, going to say what is on her mind, going to play the way she plays, and I love that about her,” he revealed to ESPN in July.

In late August, Reese incidentally reached a milestone that Shaq had reached in 1993 – record 20 rebounds in two consecutive games, and the first rookie in the WNBA or NBA to accomplish the feat since Shaquille O’Neal did with the Magic in 1993, per ESPN. Certainly, the Sky No. 5 has also been busy on the floor to make a case for herself.

Well, these two might not be biologically related, but the close connection between Reese and Shaq is apparent. While the former NBA pro will always support the rivalry between his mentee and Caitlin Clark, he’ll also always choose Angel Reese’s side!