The 2024 WNBA Rookie of the Year Award is now a two-woman race between college rivals Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese. Predicting the winner between both players has been a constant debate in basketball circles with four-time NBA champion Shaquille O’Neal chiming in on the discussion.

According the the former Los Angeles Lakers center, he is favoring Reese from the Chicago Sky to win the award over the Indiana Fever guard.

“I’m so happy for her, so happy for her team and I’m not saying this because she went to LSU but I think she’s definitely leading in the Rookie of the Year race,” O’Neal said.

By the numbers, Reese has been averaging a double-double, doing 13.5 points and 11.9 rebounds in 24 games. The former LSU star is on a 14-game double-double streak as of this writing. On the other side, Clark has also been having a good season, notching 16.8 points, 7.8 assists and 5.8 rebounds while making 2.8 three-pointers in her first 25 games.

Clark has been dubbed as the female version of Steph Curry and Shaquille O’Neal agrees with this opinion. Even with that, the former NBA MVP still favors fellow LSU alumni Reese over Clark.

“I give the vote to Angel, Caitlin is a fabulous player, the female Steph Curry. They have done a lot for the game, but let’s not forget the people that made the game what it was. I will never forget Sheryl Swoopes, Candace Parker, Lisa Leslie.”

Angel Reese and her ties with Shaquille O’Neal

Angel Reese and Shaquille O’Neal are ages apart, but both athletes share the same bond as alumus of Louisiana State University. Joining the LSU Tigers has springboarded both athlete’s careers, with Shaq being hailed as one of the great centers of all time while Reese is oozing with potential in just her first year with the WNBA.

Shaq is now the president of basketball operations for Converse, with the hopes of bringing the brand back into contention with sneaker giants like Nike, Adidas and Under Armour. In doing so, one of his first moves was looking back at his college roots and signing Angel Reese, who at this time was still playing for the Tigers, to be one of the brand ambassadors.

“There is no one making a bigger impact on the game right now than Angel Reese,” Shaq said on selecting Reese to represent the brand.

This move was seen as a way Converse could tap into the female sneaker market, riding the rising fame of Reese, who has become one of the cornerstone players of the Chicago Sky.