“Angel Reese Returning!”: ‘Uncle’ Shaquille O’Neal Proudly Shares LSU Star’s Return After 4-Game Absence

After an absence of four games, the LSU Tigers have announced that Angel Reese will be returning to the squad. Reese will join the seventh-ranked Tigers ahead of their game against No.9 Virginia Tech on Thursday night. The news was announced by LSU Tigers women’s basketball team coach Kim Mulkey in a news conference this Wednesday, saying, “Angel’s back.”

Coach Mulkey, however, refrained from giving any reasoning for Reese’s absence. On the contrary, the LSU Tigers coach seemed annoyed by the media’s constant probe on the issue. In a press conference last week, Mulkey had expressed her discontent: “All I ask as a coach is if I don’t give you the answer, don’t attack me for that. Don’t attack and make it personal.” 

In a news conference this Wednesday, Mulkey seems to have regained her trust in the 2023 NCAA Most Outstanding Player. The LSU coach gladly announced Reese’s return to the team with a few words of praise, saying, “Angel is back, and we are happy, happy, happy. She’s happy, happy, happy. She’s available to play Thursday. Angel will come right here and sit right here and answer any question you have.”

Here is a clip from the news conference, uploaded by WAFB’s Jacques Doucet on Twitter (now X).

Shaquille O’Neal, whom Reese fondly regards as her ‘Uncle,’ is also happy to hear this news. Time and again, Reese and Shaq have reiterated their kind regards for each other and developed a close bond over time. The Big Fella showed some appreciation for his ‘niece’ on his IG stories by sharing a TMZ post, breaking the news of Angel Reese returning to the LSU Tigers team. “LSU star Angel Reese Returning to Team After 4-Game Absence,” the caption read.

Did Shaq talk to Kim Mulkey about Angel Reese?

Shaquille O’Neal’s daughter, Me’Arah O’Neal, recently announced her commitment to the University of Florida. However, before committing to the college, Me’Arah was close to choosing her father’s alma mater, LSU, as her final selection.

During her college hunt, Shaquille O’Neal had posted a picture with coach Kim Mulkey that greatly hinted LSU was the O’Neal family’s top recruitment choice.

Another factor to note here would be Angel Reese being one of the NIL athletes for Reebok. Recently, Shaquille O’Neal was announced as the President of the company’s basketball operations. Perhaps seeing one of their prime college athletes missing games must have struck Big Diesel’s concern.

If we connect the dots from the above instances, could Shaq have possibly used his influence to convince coach Kim Mulkey to reinstate Reese back into the team? Well, that’s a speculation that only Shaq or Coach Mulkey can clear.