Angel Reese has said she considers Shaquille O’Neal an important mentor and “father figure.” But things between them seemed to get a little uncomfortable during a recent podcast recording. On Thursday’s episode of Unapologetically Angel, the 22-year-old sat down with the retired NBA great to discuss Reese’s game, her Reebok partnership, and potential improvements to the WNBA. In a moment that struck some as creepy, Shaq — who is 30 years Reese’s senior — repeatedly made reference to a pair of Reese’s “little ass shorts” during a discussion about dunking in the league.
“Bro, imagine you in the same little ass shorts you had on at the Wild ‘N Out show dunking,” O’Neal said, referring to an appearance Reese made at the Wild ‘N Out Live Tour’s Chicago stop earlier this month. “You know how many T-shirts you gonna sell? You trippin’.”
Reese rolled her eyes and laughed, muttering, “Oh my God.”
“What? What?” O’Neal said. “Those same little ass shorts.”
“Okay. All right. All right. All right. All right,” Reese said, attempting to change the subject. Before getting back on track, O’Neal quickly clarified that he wouldn’t buy this “T-shirt” himself, but reiterated that he finds Reese attractive. “You’re not beautiful or good-looking — you are gorgeous,” he added. “There’s a lot of gorgeous women in the WNBA.”
Some fans quickly made clear that they found Shaq’s comments “weird.” “Angel reese learned a painful lesson about men through shaq in real time, i fear,” one user wrote on X, while another noted that the father of six seemed to be “sexualizing” a girl younger than some of his own children.
Reese and O’Neal first became close while she was still playing NCAA ball at LSU. He later served as her escort during the school’s senior day, typically reserved for close family members, and played a crucial role in signing her to Reebok. “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,” Reese told USA Today earlier this year. “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.”