After losing to the LSU Tigers in the championship game, fans were convinced that this was the year Caitlin Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes would go on to win it all. However, fate had other plans as they were unable to triumph over South Carolina, ending Clark’s college career without an NCAA title. Despite the basketball icon’s bump in the road, however, NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal had high praise for the 22-year-old athlete. That said, his kind words did come with just a hint of criticism as well.
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Shaquille O’Neal was a recent guest on the Sir Charles Show on CNN with Gayle King and his co-host from Inside the NBA, Charles Barkley. During their time together, the three hosts talked extensively about women’s basketball, especially at the collegiate level. As the conversation gradually went forward, Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark were bound to come up, given how the two players performed this last season and the fact that they’ll be going to the WNBA this year.
Gayle King went on to mention that while women’s basketball is in a good place current and former players both felt that the game has changed drastically recently. King went on to ask Shaq if the reason behind the game’s revolutionization had been because of the talented women in question. In response, O’Neal said the following.
“Well, it was definitely what happened last year between Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese…Caitlin Clark is a special player. She reminds me of a Steph Curry. A lot of times she takes those ill-advised shots that me and Chuck don’t like, but they go in. not only do they go in, they go in consistently.”
“And the way she plays the game, she’s the true definition of the great player. One that makes the players around her better. Not only was she making great shots, she was making great passes and she took her loss with humility.”
Shaquille O’Neal may have slid in a hint of criticism about her shot selection, but it was nestled into a well-formed complement that drew comparisons between Caitlin Clark and Stephen Curry, a man who is popularly known as the greatest shooter of all time. Shaq then credited both Clark and Angel Reese for the changes women’s basketball has seen this past year. The rivalry between these two collegiate giants also drew in a lot of attention from fans, and media, before big networks joined in on the party as well.
Angel Reese’s presence in the paint along with Caitlin Clark’s unreal shooting were two of the many things fans filled arenas to witness. And now, with the two moving onto the big leagues, their impact and influence is only expected to get grander.
