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Shaquille O’Neal Stands Up For Angel Reese to Win WNBA Award originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
WNBA star Angel Reese is having a phenomenal season with the Chicago Sky, even being voted into her second All-Star Game. While her team has been struggling, there’s no denying that Reese’s evolution as a player has been a huge positive for the Windy City franchise.
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Through 21 games played this 2025 campaign, Reese has averaged 14.0 points, 12.6 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1.5 steals and 0.6 blocks. Her biggest improvement has been on the playmaking side after averaging just 1.9 assists in her rookie year.
After Courtney Vandersloot suffered a season-ending ACL injury earlier in the season, the “Chi-Barbie” has taken on a point-forward role for the franchise. In fact, in a June game against the Connecticut Sun, Reese recorded her first career triple-double with 11 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists — becoming the second-youngest WNBA player to achieve the feat, per CNN.
Chicago Sky star Angel Reese has improved her game in her second WNBA season.Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
Shaquille O’Neal, for his part, continues to be a strong supporter of Reese. On Tuesday, the NBA legend even went as far as backing the Sky forward to a major WNBA award.
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On his Instagram Stories, Shaq shared a post from ClutchPoints highlighting Reese’s case for WNBA Defensive Player of the Year.
“With the second-best odds to win DPOY (+300) on Polymarket Sport, Ange Reese is proving she’s more than just a rebounding machine,” the ClutchPoints post read. “Averaging a staggering 12.8 rebounds per game, Reese is an absolute vacuum on the boards, single-handedly ending possessions and sparking transition opportunities.
“But it’s her combined 2.1 steals + blocks per game that truly solidify her DPOY candidacy.”
While O’Neal didn’t write anything, his action of posting the message speaks volumes of his view about Reese.
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To be fair, Reese leads the league in defensive rebounds with 8.9. Her steals average, however, ranks only 17th.
However, what’s holding back Reese from being a real contender for the DPOY award is the Sky’s overall defensive performance. Chicago remains one of the worst defensive teams in the WNBA this 2025, ranking 12th in defensive rating with 108.1.
Related: Angel Reese Makes Her Feelings Clear on Historic Game Against Lynx
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 16, 2025, where it first appeared.
