Angel Reese Lost a $100k Free Throw Bet to Shaquille O'Neal
It appears that Chicago Sky star player Angel Reese is going to need to bank some extra endorsements after losing a $100,000 bet to four-time NBA champion Shaquille O'Neal.
On Wednesday, the recent LSU grad posted a video to her Instagram stories from inside a gymnasium alongside Shaq, who notoriously struggled with free throws during his professional career. "One hundred thousand dollars if you make this shot," Reese says in the video, which was reposted to X, formerly Twitter. "Let's see!"
And sure enough, O'Neal sunk the shot, causing Reese to scream and laugh. "I guess I owe him $100k," she wrote in a caption over the video, along with a crying face emoji.
Angel Reese told Shaq she would give him $100k if he made a free throw.pic.twitter.com/WxQU8oPCh2
— No Jumper (@nojumper) October 2, 2024
Reese didn't specify where the video was taken, but banners displaying "Mount Carmel Volleyball" could be seen hanging from the rafters, suggesting that the pair were likely at Our Lady of Mount Carmel School in Reese's hometown of Baltimore, MD. Although the 22-year-old famously attended Baltimore's St. Frances Academy, where she began her career as a four-year varsity basketball player.
In another story posted Wednesday, she wrote, "Look who's back home."
Reese and O’Neal, who also played for the LSU Tigers, became close when she was part of the Lady Tigers team under coach Kim Mulkey. Reese, who was estimated to have been one of the highest-earning college athletes from name, image, and likeness (NIL) deals alongside her LSU classmate Livvy Dunne, was signed as Reebok's first NIL athlete after Shaq was named the brand's President of Basketball in October 2023.
Unfortunately, Reese's inaugural WNBA season with the Sky ended early after she suffered a fractured wrist in a game against the Los Angeles Sparks last month. She has since undergone surgery.