Shaquille O’Neal Casts Light Upon Angel Reese’s Profanity-Laced Encounter During Sky-Dream Bout

The Chicago Sky-Atlanta Dream encounter saw constant trash-talking between the players in what was an extremely physical game. In the final quarter, the intensity of the back-and-forth increased drastically. Angel Reese seemed to lose her cool against Naz Hillmon’s tough defense on her. Hence, she let out an NSFW comment in frustration, which garnered a lot of attention on social media.

Shaquille O’Neal seemed to be amused by the rookie’s action as he shared a clip of the incident on his Instagram.

Shaq posts Reese’s trash talk pic.twitter.com/NtOWOJKgGs

— tragicpatek (@tragicpatek) June 9, 2024

As seen in the clip on Shaq’s story, with 4:30 remaining in the fourth quarter, Hillmon played some tough defense to prevent Reese getting a bucket as she was posting up near the basket. As the ball went out of bounds, Reese was visibly frustrated by the play as she cussed at Hillmon, “F**k wrong with you.”

 

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Reese did have a great game. She recorded a 13-point (team-high), 13-rebound (game-high) double-double. However, Hillmon had the last laugh as the Dream won the contest 89-80.

Shaq sharing a Reese clip isn’t that surprising. Apart from the fact that they both played for the same side in college(LSU Tigers), Reese is also an ambassador of the brand, Reebok, whose president of basketball is the big man.

Additionally, the Los Angeles Lakers legend is a huge fan of Reese’s competitive game. The fact that Reese didn’t shy away from trash-talking an older player is exactly why the four-time NBA champ regards her as his ‘niece’.

Angel Reese has always been a fierce competitor

Angel Reese talking smack shouldn’t come as a surprise. Throughout her college basketball journey, the 22-year-old has had an image of a fierce competitor and a constant trash-talker. Her heated on-court battles with Caitlin Clark were so intense back in college that Reese had to clear the air about her intentions.

“I don’t think people realize it’s not personal. If I see you walking down the street, it’s like, ‘Hey girl, what’s up? Let’s hang out.’ I think people just take it like we hate each other. Me and Caitlin Clark don’t hate each other. I want everybody to understand that. It’s just a super competitive game,” Reese had said.

The WNBA has also gotten a bad reputation as of late, for the rookie-hazing that’s been going on. However, the Sky forward decided to bust this myth by speaking about the competitiveness of the WNBA in general.

“You gotta realize all of us have a story…. Everybody doesn’t get this opportunity. So when we go out there and play super hard, compete every single day, it’s not personal. I promise you. It’s based off our stories and where we come from,” Reese said.

 

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It’s great to see Angel Reese be her true self and talk trash to the biggest names in the league. Fortunately, by averaging 11.6 points, 9.6 rebounds, and 1.9 steals per game, Reese has managed to back all the talk.