O’Neal, who thinks this year’s women’s Final Four was “the best Final Four in sports history,” tells PEOPLE he reached out to Reese personally to tell her not to worry about the naysayers

PHOTO: ETHAN MILLER/GETTY; JUSTIN TAFOYA/NCAA PHOTOS VIA GETTY

NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal says LSU star Angel Reese has earned the right to talk trash after leading her team to the 2023 NCAA championship win.

“When you’re a champion, you’re allowed to TYS: talk your stuff,” O’Neal tells PEOPLE of Reese, 20, after she was heavily criticized for taunting during Sunday’s title game, which LSU ultimately won 102-85.

O’Neal, who thinks this year’s women’s Final Four was “the best Final Four in sports history,” says he reached out to Reese personally to tell her not to worry about the naysayers.

“I talked to Angel yesterday. I said, ‘Hey, you’re a champion. Enjoy being a champion and have fun.’ “

MADDIE MEYER/GETTY

O’Neal says the online trolls “are making a big deal of” Reese’s celebratory taunt and the Twitter users who are “calling people names” are why the NBA legend takes issue with the Elon Musk-owned app.

“That’s the problem with Twitter…Everybody gets to voice their opinion,” O’Neal says.

The NBA on TNT analyst first came to Reese’s defense after the game on Sunday, in response to sports reporter Keith Olbermann’s heavily-criticized tweet calling her an “idiot” for her taunts to Clark. “Shut your dumb a– up leave Angel Reese alone,” O’Neal wrote on Sunday.

Reese reposted the tweet and wrote, “yeah my uncle shaq don’t play bout me. period.”

yeah my uncle shaq don’t play bout me. period. https://t.co/BnAZ5XcwWb

— Angel Reese (@Reese10Angel) April 3, 2023

Reese didn’t need anyone defending her when she took the podium for her postgame press conference and delivered a powerful message about representing the girls who look like her.

“All year I was critiqued about who I was. I don’t fit the narrative. I don’t fit in the box that you all want me to be in. I’m too hood, I’m too ghetto. You told me that all year. But when other people do it, y’all don’t say nothing.”

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BEN SOLOMON/NCAA PHOTOS VIA GETTY, C. MORGAN ENGEL/NCAA PHOTOS VIA GETTY

“So this is for the girls that look like me, that want to speak up on what they believe in. It’s unapologetically you. It was bigger than me tonight. I’m happy. I felt I helped grow women’s basketball.”

Reese was named the 2023 Most Outstanding Player in the NCAA Tournament. She scored a double-double in every game, according to the Sporting News.

Everything to Know About the Taunts Between March Madness Stars Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese