The WNBA’s rise in popularity and exposure this season has been well-documented. But now, NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal believes that there is one last thing that will truly put the WNBA and the NBA on a level playing field.
O’Neal, who was courtside at Friday’s matchup between the Indiana Fever and the Chicago Sky, highlighted by the individual rookie stars on both sides, Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese, was asked about the sudden rise in popularity in the sport.
In the interview, O’Neal not only shared his excitement about the exposure WNBA players are getting, but also called for them to get “similar contracts” to some of the players in the NBA.
“I love it, especially for women,” said O’Neal on the rise in popularity of the sport. “Listen, they’ve always played great, they’ve always played hard. I’m glad they’re getting the exposure. They definitely deserve it. Now we just gotta get ’em similar contracts as what some of these NBA guys are making.”
— ً (@car_ideas) August 30, 2024
If we continue to see the historic growth in viewership across the WNBA, which is not just related to Clark’s popularity, we very well could see Shaq’s wish for similar contracts to the NBA coming true one day.
But until then, it will take even more stars to emerge in future years, which could very end up coming true considering the big names that remain at the college level including UConn’s Paige Bueckers, USC’s JuJu Watkins, and LSU’s Mikaylah Williams amongst many others.
[Car Ideas on X]
