The dominant topic in the WNBA this season has been the arrival and play of Caitlin Clark, and her budding on-court rivalry with fellow rookie Angel Reese. The two have been competing since high school and met in back-to-back years in the NCAA Tournament, with Reese’s LSU Tigers beating Iowa for a national title in 2023 and Clark’s Hawkeyes getting revenge in the Elite Eight this year. Now in the WNBA on the Fever and Sky respectively, their games have consistently broken WNBA viewership records on various networks.
However, the conversation about the two young stars has gotten out of hand, as they’ve become proxies in culture war arguments beyond the world of basketball. It’s seemingly impossible for anyone to have a relatively tame thought on Clark and Reese, but Shaq finally provided a reasonable take on the two young stars. Shaq is extremely close with Reese, as he’s been a longtime supporter as a fellow LSU alum, with his production company launching Reese’s new podcast and also playing a role in her being with Reebok. Despite that, Shaq has been incredibly impressed by Clark, calling her the “real deal” after watching a recent Fever-Sky game from courtside, and thinks the two are destined for greatness.
When asked about his Inside the NBA colleague Charles Barkley‘s comments on other WNBA players being petty and hating on Clark on USA Today’s “Sports Seriously”, Shaq explained that it’s all part of the process for any young star that’s breaking into a new professional league — and, of course, getting a jab in at Barkley.
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