Shaq revealed why calling Caitlin Clark the GOAT of women's basketball was a no-brainer

Shaquille O’Neal is unapologetic about his thoughts on Caitlin Clark.

He recently called her the greatest women’s college hoops player ever, which has caused a lot of debate in basketball circles. The more we thought about it, the more we had one question for him: WHY?

Shaq is not one to beat around the bush. He tells it like it is and stands on his words. So, it wasn’t a shock to hear him chat with the NBA on TNT crew in February about Caitlin Clark and definitively dub her the greatest women’s college basketball player of all time. He immediately received pushback from his colleagues asking him if he’d heard of Cheryl Miller, Maya Moore, Diana Taurasi or Candace Parker. But he didn’t flinch.

While promoting his “How to March Madness” campaign and “Tips from the Tool Shaq” content series with Home Depot, O’Neal recently revealed to For The Win his criteria for calling Clark the greatest women’s hoops player ever to do it.

"I'm gonna go on the record and say she's the best female collegiate player ever."

Shaq has high praise for Caitlin Clark after breaking the NCAAW all-time scoring record pic.twitter.com/2r2Zrq93n7

— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) February 16, 2024

Here’s what Shaq shared with us about his Caitlin:

“You always have to look at the stats. If a person has 20 [points], they are great. She has 30. Wouldn’t it automatically make her great? I say yeah. The way she plays, shoots and puts her team on the map — nobody has done what she’s done. The reason why Steph Curry is my favorite player is not because he’s bigger and stronger and gotten more done. It’s because nobody has ever done what he’s done.”

“Name a guy who’s ever done what he’s done. Name a woman who’s doing what Caitlin Clark is doing. I don’t know one. I know one that’s close — JuJu Watkins. I’ve never seen anybody play like Miss Caitlin Clark. That’s why I say she’s the best college player ever. It’s all subjective, but it’s just my opinion. Nobody is doing that step-back Steph Curry shot like Caitlin Clark, and she does it every game. [On March 10], she had four points [in the first half] and then came back with 30. That’s greatness right there.”