WNBA star Angel Reese recently interviewed Shaquille O’Neal on her podcast, “Unapologetically Angel.” The two discussed O’Neal’s journey in the basketball world and spoke on the rise of the WNBA.

The WNBA had a historic season in terms of popularity in nearly every marketable aspect, largely due to the rookie class that Reese and Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark headlined.

While Reese had a tremendous year, helping the Chicago Sky earn a 13-27 record as the No. 10 seed while averaging 13.6 points and 13.1 rebounds per game, Clark seemed to be a step ahead of every other rookie.

During the podcast, O’Neal asked Reese why he thinks everybody loves Clark.

Reese then responded with the one aspect of Clark’s game that makes her unique.

“She can shoot threes from the logo,” Reese said.

Team WNBA forward Angel Reese (5) passes the ball to Caitlin Clark (22).

© Mark J. Rebilas–USA TODAY Sports

Clark finished her rookie season with the Fever averaging 19.2 points, 5.7 rebounds and 8.4 assists per game. She led the WNBA in average assists and the rookie class in points.

As Reese explained, Clark’s elite-level scoring ability helped the Fever vastly improve and served as the driving factor to Indiana earning such high viewership numbers throughout the season.

The Fever finished the 2024 season as the No. 6 seed in the WNBA standings with a 20-20 record. They earned their first playoff appearance since 2016 and their first 20-win season since 2015.

With the success of the rookie class, the WNBA attracted more than 54 million viewers on ESPN, ESPN2, ION, NBA TV, CBS and ABC.

The league’s arena attendance was the highest it’s been in 22 years, totaling roughly 2.4 million fans throughout the year, which is a 48% increase from last season.

While Clark wasn’t the only helpful hand in increasing those numbers, she was able to completely change the future of the Fever franchise, not only on the court but in terms of league-wide popularity.

In 2024, the WNBA featured the two most-watched ABC games in league history, both featuring the Fever. Indiana lured around 2.23 million viewers against the Seattle Storm on Aug. 18 and around 1.71 million viewers against the New York Liberty on May 18.

The WNBA also had its most-watched game to date on ESPN2, which featured Clark and the Fever. They earned around 2.12 million viewers against the Connecticut Sun on May 14.