Shaquille O’Neal Says Angel Reese Is “Supposed to Hate” Caitlin Clark – But There’s More to the Story

(L) Shaquille O’Neal (R) Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese
Image Credits: USA Today Sports

Ever since the hotly contested National Championship game in 2023, Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark have been pitted against each other as rivals. Reese’s ‘you can’t see me’ celebration as Clark’s Hawkeyes lost the final was the topic of a lot of (unjust) criticism, and they have been billed as top-tier rivals ever since. When Clark’s Hawkeyes beat Reese and the Tigers next year, the media claimed it was a revenge victory.

But since the start of their WNBA careers, there’s been a lot of vitriolic hate toward Reese, which has a lot to do with the way her Chicago Sky match up with Clark’s Indiana Fever. The media has seemingly started to run narratives that Reese hates her counterpart, but according to Shaquille O’Neal, who dubbed himself as Reese’s ‘fun uncle,’ the hate isn’t real.

He brought up his career with the Lakers, and noted that he hated the Clippers and the Celtics when in LA. “Yeah, she’s supposed to hate her, so what?” he asked on Bailey Jackson’s ‘Off the Record’ podcast. “I hated the Clippers, I hated the Celtics. It’s not real hate; this is sports. I’m not supposed to like you. Competition, that’s what the world’s built on.”

He went on to defend both Reese and Clark and spoke about how the two have been subject to intense media scrutiny ever since they met in the National Finals in 2023. “And first of all, let them girls, like, leave them alone.” He spoke indirectly to Robert Griffin III, who’s been driving the narrative that Reese and Clark have mutual hatred for each other.

Shaq has made it clear that he’s not pleased with the narratives that RG3 is trying to push, and even threatened him with violence if he continued to speak on Reese.

Reese has also reiterated that the rivalry between her and Clark is just that. There’s no real animosity between the two, and it’s the spirit of competition between two of the WNBA’s hottest talents that keeps things feisty whenever they meet.

A little-known fact about the duo is that they’ve been facing off since the 9th grade, when Reese went to Maryland and Clark was in Iowa. Their competitive spirits, plus the amount of time they’ve spent playing against each other, just make their games that much more interesting to watch. There’s never been any real hate from either side, and Reese wants that to be known.