NBA legend Shaquille O'Neal has long advocated for women's basketball, and now he has placed his bet on the brewing rivalry between the Chicago Sky's Angel Reese and the Indiana Fever's Caitlin Clark. Both Reese and Clark have drawn millions of new viewers to the WNBA, thanks to their stellar play and college battles, with Clark at Iowa and Reese at LSU. These new viewers should drive league revenue up, making Shaq's call for equal pay in the WNBA closer to reality.

“Let's not get it twisted, I'm Angel all day,” the legendary big man said in an episode of The Big Podcast with Shaq, via ClutchPoints on X, formerly Twitter. “Like, for example, NFL, I'm Cowboys, and there ain't nothing to talk about. WNBA, I'm Angel all day.”

Shaquille O'Neal picks the Sky star

Team WNBA forward Angel Reese (5)and Team WNBA guard Caitlin Clark (22) react after a play during the first half against the USA Women's National Team at Footprint Center.
© Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

While Shaq picked Angel Reese as his bet, he still gave Caitlin Clark her well-deserved props.

“Now, I'm not Shaq, I'm a fan. Caitlin plays the right way,” he added. “I saw it, she makes the right play. She makes her teammates better, she shoots the ball, she's a great player. But I'm Angel Reese all day. Don't ever get it twisted.”

When asked about the possibility of Reese and Clark playing on the same team, citing their perfect fit for a heavy pick-and-roll scheme, Shaq dismissed the idea.

“I don't want them together, I want them to battle against each other. It's a whole bunch of storylines that I think it's very interesting. And I think it has definitely elevated the women's game,” O'Neal continued. “Don't make no mistake about it. I'm Angel Reese all day.”

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Shaq's point about wanting the Sky and Fever rookies battling each other seemed kind of ironic coming from him, considering he has played with, and won NBA titles with, some of the best guards in NBA history: Penny Hardaway, Kobe Bryant, and Dwyane Wade.

Still, the legendary big man would agree with WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert's Larry Bird vs. Magic Johnson comparison for the two women. Like Bird and Magic, the two women drew millions of new fans and ushered in a new golden age of popularity for the league.

The tale of two rookies

However, the WNBA Player's Association didn't share Engelbert's enthusiasm. Anyway, Clark has won Rookie of the Year, in a unanimous vote, as her record-breaking season helped lead the Fever to the playoffs for the first time since 2016.

Sadly, the Connecticut Sun blew out the Fever 93-69 in Game 1 of the first round. Can they bounce back and keep their season alive?

Meanwhile, a wrist injury ended Angel Reese's season a few weeks ago, which partly led to the Sky's elimination from postseason contention. Still, Reese also had a record-breaking season, as she became the fastest WNBA player to reach 20 double-doubles in league history.

It might not be too long until the two stars face each other in the playoffs, which should be appointment television.