May be an image of 2 people, people playing basketball and text

Angel Reese dropped the latest episode of her “Unapologetically Angel” podcast on Thursday, featuring NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal.

While discussing the current state of the WNBA, O’Neal shared his thoughts on Rookie of the Year Caitlin Clark.

The Indiana Fever guard was a sensation in her rookie season, averaging 19.2 points, 5.7 rebounds and 8.4 assists per game.

While O’Neal mentioned that he was once a hater of Clark, he explained that he had no other choice but to respect her game after watching her in the Final Four with the Iowa Hawkeyes.

Clark played in the Final Four against Reese in 2023, falling to the LSU Tigers, 102-85.

O’Neal said that he was a fan of Reese, so had to root against Clark, but he still deemed the 22-year-old as “the truth.”

“She’s doing stuff we’ve never seen before,” O’Neal said. “I was a hater, because you know I’m down with you… But, if I say you’re going to hit the shot and you hit the shot. That means you’re the truth.”

Clark played for the Iowa Hawkeyes from 2020 to 2024. During her time with the Hawkeys, Clark averaged 28.4 points, 7.1 rebounds and 8.2 assists per game.

In Clark’s senior season, 2023-24, Iowa finished the year with a 34-5 record, falling to the South Carolina Gamecocks in the NCAA tournament national title.

While the young star was wreaking havoc at the collegiate level, Clark became the NCAA’s all-time leading scorer for both men’s and women’s basketball. She finished her four-year college career with 3,951 points.


Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) Grace Hollars/USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images

Following a historic college career, Clark was drafted with the No. 1 overall pick by the Fever.

She led Indiana to its first playoff appearance since 2016 and helped the team finish the year with its first 20-win seaosn since 2015, holding a 20-20 record as the No. 6 team in the WNBA standings.

These accomplishments helped Clark convincingly win the Rookie of the Year over Reese.

During her rookie season in the WNBA, Reese averaged 13.6 points and 13.1 rebounds per game. The 6-foot-3 forward led the WNBA in average rebounds and was the only rookie to average a double-double.