Shaquille O’Neal and Angel Reese.Photo:NBAonTNT/X
NBAonTNT/X
Shaquille O’NealandAngel Reeseshared a special moment in front of fans at LSU on Sunday.
O’Neal, 51, escorted Reese, 21, and her mother, also named Angel, from the locker room onto the court at his alma mater LSU, where Reese was being honored during the Tigers' senior day celebration.
Reese’s mother and O’Neal sported custom-made shirts with animations of the LSU star on the front. On the back, the shirts said, “Bayou Barbie is My Favorite Senior,” referring to Reese’s well-known nickname.
Tigers head coachKim Mulkeymet the group on the court to pose for photos as fans chanted, “One more year” at Reese.
The senior day ceremony took place during halftime of the Tigers' game against the Kentucky Wildcats, which LSU won 77-56.
After the game, Reese toldESPNit’s “been great” to have O’Neal’s support. “He’s really smart, not just on the basketball court, but just in life,” Reese said of her mentor.
She continued, “He has his doctorate, so he’s educated, being a lot of things outside of basketball. Being able to have somebody like that has been a great inspiration for me. And of course, enjoying the moment like this with him and the rest of my family was fun tonight,” per ESPN.
Shaquille O’Neal; Angel Reese.Ethan Miller/Getty; Justin Tafoya/NCAA Photos via Getty
Last April, O’Neal came to Reese’s defense against online trolls who didn’t support her rise to fame.
“Shut your dumb a– up leave Angel Reese alone,” O’Neal wrote onX, formerly Twitter, when a reporter spoke poorly about her in a post.
Reese reposted O’Neal’s rebuttal to her own page, and wrote, “yeah my uncle shaq don’t play bout me. period.”
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And on an episode of his podcast,The Big Podcast with Shaq, the NBA legend said Reese is “probably the greatest athlete to ever come out of LSU sports,” adding that the accolade applies to “male or female” athletes from the university.
In June, Reese told PEOPLE she’s definitely felt “overwhelmed” with “so many” eyes on her, but she’s embraced the opportunity to be a role model.
“It’s a blessing, honestly. I’ve kind of embraced it. People are watching me,” she said. “I mean, it’s a fast life I’m living. I think I have to mature quickly.”
She added, “I’m going to learn from mistakes that I make, but I have a lot of great people around me that help me and I’m blessed to have them around me. I’m happy.”
source: people.com
