Mar 3, 2024; Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA; LSU Lady Tigers forward Angel Reese takes a photo for senior night with former LSU player and NBA champion Shaquille O’Neal, LSU Lady Tigers head coach Kim Mulkey, and Reese’s mother Angel Webb against the Kentucky Wildcats at Pete Maravich Assembly Center. / Matthew Hinton-USA TODAY Sports

One of the most talked about WNBA storylines this season revolves around the battle for 2024 Rookie of the Year-Indiana Fever’s Caitlin Clark or Chicago Sky’s Angel Reese?

The race is extremely close heading into the All-Star break, but NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal has an easy answer for who he thinks deserves the award: Reese.

O’Neal and Reese have been friends since she became a superstar at LSU, O’Neal’s alma mater. But, he is also just very impressed with her WNBA rookie season so far.

“I’m not just saying this because she went to LSU, I think she’s definitely leading in the Rookie of the Year race,” O’Neal said. “I give the vote to Angel.”

O’Neal is still impressed by Clark, though, and he applauded both of the WNBA rookies for their influence on the league and game as a whole.

“Caitlin is a fabulous player, the female Steph Curry,” O’Neal continued. “They have done a lot for the game…. Caitlin and Angel, because of social media and all the media outlets, they really brought the game where it should’ve been 10 years ago.”

Through 23 games played, Reese has averaged 13.5 points and 12 rebounds per дате. Не патe was tossed in the same sentence as O’Neal recently when she clocked her 16th double-double in her first 22 starts, which trailed only O’Neal’s 19 double-doubles in the same amount of starts in his rookie season.