“That’s not cheating” – Shaquille O’Neal offers Angel Reese candid advice about dating athletes

Shaquille O

Shaquille O’Neal offers Angel Reese candid advice about dating athletes [Credit: IG/@lsubasketball, X/@Reese10Angel]

Shaquille O’Neal was the latest guest on Angel Reese’s podcast “Unapologetically Angel.” Among the various topics that the NBA legend gave his opinion about, one of the interesting ones was his advice on dating an “athlete.”

The four-time NBA champion said that he didn’t like it when people put athletes in a category.

“I hate when they put us in that category,” Shaq said. “Like not all athletes are crazy.”

Reese shot back another question at the four-time NBA champion and asked if all athletes cheat in their relationships.

“If I’m dating someone and they say I’m emotionally cheating because I complimented another woman… that’s not cheating. For example, if I said, ‘You look beautiful on that podcast,’ is that cheating? No, that’s just a compliment,” Shaq said (30:00 onwards).

Watch: Caitlin Clark reunites with Kate Martin & Gabbie Marshall at Iowa for preseason scrimmage

Aliyah Boston unveils her goofy self during scenic Caribbean getaway

Jaylen Brown’s girlfriend Kysre Gondrezick recalls unforgettable Indiana days in anecdote describing her ‘welcome to WNBA’ moment

The former NBA big man went on to dissect the intricacies of cheating, especially “emotional cheating.”

“Women often create rules as they go along. Like somebody told me about ’emotional cheating.’ I’d never heard of it … I thought it was just cheating, what is this emotional cheating!” Shaq added.

Reese said that one of the instances of emotional cheating was when a man compliments another woman to set her up with one of his friends.

The former LA Lakers player later added that cases of emotional cheating are created between couples when there is no understanding between them. Shaq also revealed later that although he has never checked his partners’ phones in the past, they have checked his.

Shaquille O’Neal recalls the best advice he gave Angel Reese after her rift with her LSU coach

After the 2023 NCAA championship and the NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player win, Angel Reese became one of the biggest faces in women’s college basketball. However, the following college season did not go as smoothly as last season for the Sky star.

The rift between Angel Reese and her LSU coach Kim Mulkey broke the national news. She was absent from the LSU games for four games before she rejoined the team. According to ESPN, the rift between the player and the coach started when Mulkey benched Reese in a game against Kent State.

Shaquille O’Neal said on “The Big Podcast with Shaq” that he called Angel Reese and offered his advice. Shaq advised Reese to take the punishment and make a stronger comeback.

“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.'”

LSU went 4-0 in Angel Reese’s absence. Later, by the end of November 2023, Reese made a comeback in a game against Virginia Tech.