Women's Fastbreak On SI

Shaquille O'Neal Alludes to Relationship Turmoil Between Angel Reese and Kim Mulkey

Shaquille O'Neal let it slip that Kim Mulkey was "punishing" Angel Reese at one point in LSU's 2023-24 season.

Grant Young

Jun 6, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Shaquille O'Neal looks on before the game between the Boston Celtics and the Dallas Mavericks in game one of the 2024 NBA Finals at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images
Jun 6, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Shaquille O'Neal looks on before the game between the Boston Celtics and the Dallas Mavericks in game one of the 2024 NBA Finals at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images / David Butler II-Imagn Images

NBA legend Shaquille O'Neal and Chicago Sky superstar Angel Reese have an excellent relationship together.

In addition to them both being alumni of LSU basketball, Shaq made a point to sign Reese to Reebok soon after he became the president of the company's basketball division, which resulted in a new shoe and apparel collection.

This isn't the only financial tie that the two have had with each other. Earlier this month, Reese went viral for posting a selfie video of her and Shaq at what appears to be some sort of basketball event where she said she'd give Shaq $100,000 if he made a shot.

Shaq then made said shot.

Regardless of whether Shaq made Reese hold up her end of the bargain in that bet, it's clear there's a lot of trust between these two.

However, Shaq might have breached this trust after a comment he made on a recent episode of "The Big Podcast With Shaq".

Shaq did a live episode alongside former LSU football icon Leonard Fournette. When talking about his relationship with Reese, he said, "Me and [Reese] are really good friends. She reminds me of my daughter, so I mentor her at times.

"Like the time she was having a problem with Kim [Mulkey], I called her and I said 'Hey, part of the game, don't say nothing, don't respond. Just take your punishment like a soldier and then come back,'" Shaq added.

Shaq seems to be alluding to a point in time during LSU's 2023-24 season where Reese missed four games for an undisclosed reason. While there was no clear confirmation about any previous "problem" or "punishment" between Reese and her coach, Reese did suggest her absence was due to something between her and Mulkey in one of her "Unapologetically Angel" podcast episodes.

Now Shaq has unintentionally confirmed Reese was being punished by Mulkey.

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Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.

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