Shaq on Angel Reese: ‘There is no one making a bigger impact’
BATON ROUGE, La. (BVM) – No one’s popularity and stock has blown up over the past year quite like LSU star Angel Reese’s and NBA legends have taken note.
Shaquille O’Neal, an LSU alum himself, had the highest praise for the junior forward.
“There is no one making a bigger impact on the game right now than Angel Reese,” O’Neal told Nick DePaula of Boardroom.TV.
O’Neal and Allen Iverson were recently appointed to the top of Reebok’s basketball division and they decided to bring on Reese with an NIL deal in their first major move.
“For my first appointment in this role, it had to be the GOAT,” O’Neal said.
Reese led the Tigers to the national championship last season then it felt like she was seen everywhere in the offseason. Her Instagram following has skyrocketed to 2.6 million followers and she is now arguably the top name in college basketball.
The Baltimore native has reaped the rewards of her popularity as she now has an NIL valuation of $1.7 million according to On3. She already had deals with businesses like Amazon, Playstation and Airbnb prior to her new deal with Reebok.
Many remember Reese for just LSU’s national title run, but she had been a consistent force for the Tigers all season long.
She spent her first two collegiate years at Maryland before transferring to Baton Rouge prior to the 2022-23 season, then averaged 23 points and 15.4 rebounds.
LSU is expected to have another big season once again as the team returns Reese and Flau’Jae Johnson while also adding Hailey Van Lith and Aneesah Morrow from the transfer portal.
It will have the talent and the experience to make another special run in the tournament, and if it does, Reese will be the star of the show while donning a new pair of Reeboks.
