Women's Fastbreak On SI

Angel Reese, WNBA Rookies Roast Shaquille O'Neal Amid Sightless Caitlin Clark Praise

Angel Reese had no problem giving Caitlin Clark love at her mentor Shaquille O'Neal's expense.

Grant Young

May 28, 2024; Dallas, Texas, USA; Shaquille O'Neal watches the game between the Dallas Mavericks and the Minnesota Timberwolves in game four of the western conference finals for the 2024 NBA playoffs at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
May 28, 2024; Dallas, Texas, USA; Shaquille O'Neal watches the game between the Dallas Mavericks and the Minnesota Timberwolves in game four of the western conference finals for the 2024 NBA playoffs at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images / Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

The rivalry between Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese which started from their time playing college basketball and has continued into the WNBA has been critical to women's basketball's massive spike in attention and popularity in recent years.

While the two superstars don't claim to have any real disdain for each other, it's apparent each time they play that they are fiery competitors who like to get the edge over the other.

However, when speaking in front of a microphone, Clark and Reese have done nothing but praise each other. And this was proven once again during a video from the 2024 WNBA Draft that resurfaced on social media over the weekend.

X user @JayAnags posted a video of various members of the 2024 WNBA rookie class being asked 'Who you got winning a three-point contest: a blindfolded Caitlin Clark or a prime Shaquille O'Neal?" before the WNBA Draft took place on April 15, 2024.

"I'm going Caitlin Clark," Reese answered with a smile.

This one must have hit Shaq — who made just 1 three-pointer throughout his 19-year NBA career — especially hard, given the strong personal and business-centric bond that he and Reese have cultivated over the past couple of years.

And Reese wasn't alone in siding with a sightless Caitlin Clark (who made 122 three-pointers with the Indiana Fever (albeit not blindfolded) this season). Of the 10 rookies who were asked this question, nine of them sided with Caitlin Clark.

The only one who didn't was Clark, saying, "Shaq... I mean, blindfolded is crazy, I can't see the rim. Shaq, I'll let Shaq take that one."

Perhaps this answer from Clark is why Shaq experienced a change of heart on Caitlin Clark last month.

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Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.

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