Shaquille O’Neal recalls advising Angel Reese during possible rift with Kim Mulkey over four-game suspension

Shaquille O’Neal recalled advising Angel Reese on dealing with her absence from LSU’s games during her final college season. After being benched in the second half of the game against Kent State, Reese did not play from Nov. 18 to Nov. 26, 2023. Kim Mulkey chose to shield her player by not sharing details of her non-appearance.

Shaquille O'Neal touched on his relationship with the Chicago Sky star on the Big Podcast With Shaq. As the four-time NBA champion discussed their mentor-mentee bond, he reflected on the advice he gave to Reese during her four-game absence.

"Me and her are really good friends," Shaq said. "She reminds me of my daughter, so I mentor her at times. Like the time she was having a problem with Kim, I called her and I said 'Hey, part of the game, don't say nothing, don't respond. Just take your punishment like a soldier and then come back.'"

Till date, Kim Mulkey has not directly addressed the reason behind Angel Reese’s absence. When asked about the same after LSU’s game against Texas Southern on Nov. 21, 2023, Mulkey let the media and fans know that she would not yield any information about the scenario.

"I've been doing this for 40 years, you're going to deal with stuff,” Mulkey said. “Those kids are like my children, and I'm not going to tell you what you don't need to know, and that's just the way I address things."

Angel Reese opened up on the absences on her podcast

Angel Reese spilled the tea in the debut episode of her podcast “Unapologetically Angel." Talking to Maya Reese, the former LSU player candidly shared that she had been struggling to manage the whirlwind of her newfound social media fandom. Moreover, she added that the pressure of brand deals and commercial appearances overwhelmed her even more.

So, after a tough outing against Kent State, she opened up to Kim Mulkey about her struggles. Together, the coach and the star player mutually decided to get Reese some time off the court.

“After that game, me and her had a conversation and talked about moving forward and it was just best for me to take some time off,” Reese said. (5:00)

Even though Reese shared that being off the lineup was one of the toughest stretches in her college career, she came back stronger than ever.

In the four games before her break, Angel Reese was averaging 17 points, 10.2 rebounds, 1.5 assists, one steal and less than a block per game on 46.6% shooting. After returning to the court, Reese garnered 21.2 ppg, 10.7 rpg, 2.7 spg and 2.0 apg on a 62% clip in the next four contests.