Shaquille O’Neal Hypes Up Angel Reese and Rookie Class For Record-Breaking Growth in WNBA Viewership

Shaquille O’Neal is excited about the WNBA’s stunning growth this year. The Hall of Famer shared a post on his Instagram stories highlighting the league’s massive uptick in viewership, ticket sales, and social media views in the ongoing campaign. The post credited Angel Reese, who affectionately calls O’Neal her ‘uncle’, and fellow rookies, Caitlin Clark and Cameron Brink, for the WNBA’s unprecedented success this year.

Per the post, the WNBA’s ticket sales are up 156% compared to last season, while the viewership has increased threefold. In another post on X, entrepreneur and internet personality, Joe Pompliano, noted that the league’s merchandise sales have risen seven times and social media views have quadrupled compared to 2023.

The WNBA’s staggering success should be a cause for celebration but the civil war for its credit has been gruesome. On one side, many believe that Caitlin Clark is single-handedly responsible for the sport’s rise, while others, like O’Neal, argue that Angel Reese and other stars deserve as much credit as the Indiana Fever guard.

Reese has unabashedly claimed credit for playing a role in women’s basketball’s meteoric rise, leading to criticism. However, O’Neal has unwaveringly supported her niece and other prominent names like Gilbert Arenas have also come to her defense.

Gilbert Arenas credits Angel Reese for helping draw crowds to games

Clark’s ability to sell out arenas has been on full display in her rookie season, as the Indiana Fever and 11 other teams are enjoying record-breaking revenue through ticket sales. The Washington Mystics had their first-ever $1 million gate as 20,300 people flocked to the Capital One Arena when the young guard and her team came to town.

Reese and the Chicago Sky drew half that number during their trip to the capital a day prior, prompting fans to troll the rookie for claiming she’s as influential as Clark. However, Arenas came to her defense and responded that the reported 10,000 attendance was more than twice the Mystics’ average of 4,500.

The retired star argued that the game would’ve been played at the much smaller, Entertainment & Sports Arena in Washington rather than the Capital One Arena, had it not been for Reese’s ability to draw a crowd.

Clark is inarguably the WNBA’s marquee attraction and deserves credit for bringing unmatched attention to the WNBA. However, players like Reese and Brink have also played a part in helping women’s basketball grow and their role shouldn’t be diminished.