Shaquille O’Neal sides with LSU ‘niece’ Angel Reese over Caitlin Clark in ROTY debate

Angel Reese is currently at the top of the ROTY rankings as per ESPN.

Shaquille O’Neal sides with LSU ‘niece’ Angel Reese over Caitlin Clark in ROTY debate

Shaquille O'Neal sides with LSU 'niece' Angel Reese over Caitlin Clark in WNBA Rookie of the Year debate

With both Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese battling it out for their respective teams, the race to be the WNBA Rookie of the Year is heating up. This situation has come about for the first time in a decade. Currently, certain publications and analysts have the Chicago Sky star in the lead. It is something a fellow former LSU superstar and ‘Uncle’ Shaquille O’Neal agrees with.

The NBA Hall of Famer was a guest on SportsCenter to talk about the current state of affairs in the NBA as well as other sports. When host Matt Barrie asked his opinion on Angel Reese, he spoke about her resume and mentality. 

Her mentality, the way she plays, no nonsense, she's going to say what's on her mind, going to play the way she plays. She's won a championship. She's the type that, if you doubt her, she's going to step up and play. Not saying this because she went to LSU, but I think she's definitely leading in the Rookie of the Year race. I'd give the vote to Angel. Caitlin is a fabulous player, the female Steph Curry. They have done a lot for the game.
Shaquille O’Neal via SportsCenter
YouTube video

Barrie did mention that Reese calls Shaquille O’Neal ‘Uncle.’ Hence, it could be that the ‘Big Aristotle’ is slightly biased towards his fellow former LSU star. That said, he did praise Caitlin Clark in the past. But Reese’s record-breaking double-double streak has given him the proof to back up his support for his ‘niece.’ Had she struggled, he might have been talking about Clark.

FS Video

The Rookie of the Year race has made it difficult for many to pick a side. A couple of weeks ago, it was Angel Reese comfortably in the lead. With Caitlin Clark storming back with an uptick in scoring and league leading assists, the race is comfortably wide open.

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Angel Reese & Caitlin Clark will only participate in All-Star game

Once the All-Star roster was announced, these two rookies were expected to participate in the All-Star game. Considering the massive fan following the two have brought to the league, bringing them to contest Friday’s activities could have given a major boost to the league.

However, the WNBA released the rosters for the Skills Challenge as well as the 3-point contest. Neither Caitlin Clark nor Angel Reese’s names were anywhere to be found. It seems the WNBA decided not to let the duo take all the shine and make more players to be involved.

Clark and Reese might be dominating the record books as rookies. But going by pure math, both have struggled in certain areas. These were areas in which they previously excelled in their college careers. With continuous development, the two could be a part of proceedings next season.

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