Shaquille O’Neal says Angel Reese — not Joe Burrow — is LSU’s greatest athlete of all time
LSU has plenty of alumni to boast about, including four-time NBA champion Shaquille O’Neal. However, the legendary great man doesn’t see himself as the greatest athlete to leave school. His choice? Women’s basketball star Angel Reese.
“She’s probably the greatest athlete to ever emerge from LSU sport. You heard it here first,” he said The big pod. “Male and female. Always.”
O’Neal was a tiger from 1989 to 1992. During that time, he was a two-time All-American, twice SEC Player of the Year, and received Adolph Rupp Player of the Year honors in 1991 — the same year he led the nation in rebounds. LSU retired his #33 jersey in 2000. Prior to that, the school had only retired three other jerseys: Billy Cannon, Bob Petit, and “Pistol” Pete Maravich.
O’Neal was asked to clarify if he thought Reese was a bigger tiger than he was, and he quickly and confidently replied “yes”.
After moving from Maryland, Reese just wrapped her first season with Kim Mulkey and the Tigers. It was quite an exciting season as she led the team with 23.3 points and 15.6 rebounds per game while catching 34 double-doubles, which was an NCAA record for a single season. But more importantly, O’Neal said she helped LSU win the first national basketball title — men’s or women’s — in school history.
“You see, many of us got the package and we still have the package in our truck. She delivered the package,” O’Neal said. “There’s a lot of names to throw around, men and women, but she’s probably the greatest athlete. Some people exclude them with ‘athletes’. I don’t.”
Reese isn’t the only athlete bringing a championship to LSU. Joe Burrow, who transferred from Ohio State, led the 2019 football team to a national championship trophy. Burrow is now a successful NFL quarterback, and O’Neal is well aware of his accomplishments. However, he still favors Reese over Burrow.
“She’s the greatest athlete to ever come out of LSU because she made it. Joe Burrow did it a few years ago, but she’s a lot more athletic than him,” O’Neal said.
