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What Shaquille O'Neal Had To Say After Caitlin Clark Broke NCAA Scoring Record

Iowa star Caitlin Clark made history after becoming the women's all-time scoring leader

Shandel Richardson

What Shaquille O'Neal Had To Say After Caitlin Clark Broke NCAA Scoring Record
What Shaquille O'Neal Had To Say After Caitlin Clark Broke NCAA Scoring Record /
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Iowa superstar Caitlin Clark made history Thursday when she became the NCAA women's basketball career scoring leader. 

It immediately led to the debate on if she is the best player of all-time. The discussion even spilled into the NBA realm when legend Shaquille O'Neal offered his thoughts. 

During the TNT broadcast, O'Neal said Clark is the best he's seen. 

"She's incredible," O'Neal said. "Congratulations to her and her family. The greatest thing is I'm just seeing her last year when they played LSU. She's phenomenal. I'm gonna go on the record and say she's the best female collegiate player ever."

When co-hosts Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith mentioned Maya Moore, Diana Taurasi and Cheryl Miller, O'Neal stood his ground. 

"I said what I said," O'Neal said. "This is my opinion and I'm not changing it. I ain't disrespecting nobody. It's my opinion and I ain't going to change it. How about that? 

Clark entered the game against Michigan needing just eight points to break the record. She did that by scoring her team's first eight points, passing the mark on a 3-pointer from nearly halfcourt. She finished with 49 points. 

She ended the game with 3,659 career points with a month left in the season. Last year Clark became one of the most popular players in women's basketball history. Her fame peaked when she was involved in a controversial incident with LSU's Angel Reese in the NCAA title game. 

With LSU comfortably ahead, Reese was criticized by some for taunting Clark late in the game. 

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Shandel Richardson is the publisher of Back In The Day NBA. He can be reached at shandelrich@gmail.com 

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Shandel Richardson
SHANDEL RICHARDSON

Shandel has covered the NBA since 2010, with previous stops at The Athletic and South Florida Sun-Sentinel.  He has covered six NBA Finals, one Super Bowl, the NCAA basketball tournament. He has also been a beat writer for the Miami Hurricanes and contributed on every major beat in South Florida since 2003, including the Miami Dolphins and Miami Marlins. He can also be read in the Sportsbook Review for gambling coverage from around the NBA. A native of Bloomington, Illinois, Shandel attended Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. He's also worked for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Kansas City Star.  TWITTER: @ShandelRich EMAIL: shandelrich@gmail.com

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