The Hall of Fame big man was sitting courtside watching Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese.
for double-doubles in one season by a rookie. It wasn't the competitive contest the audience is used to seeing from Clark and Reese-led teams, but each matchup between the pair only serves to grow their intertwined basketball journeys.
In attendance for Friday's game in Chicago was none other than Shaquille O'Neal. The NBA Hall of Fame big man was selected for a brief courtside interview at one point during the Fever's win. He took that time to advocate for WNBA players to receive contracts on the same level as NBA players in the wake of the W's surge in popularity this season.
"I love it," Shaq said when asked what it was like to experience the WNBA crowd in-person. "Especially for women. They've always played great, they've always played hard, I'm glad they're getting their exposure. They definitely deserve it. Now we just got to get them similar contracts to what some of those NBA guys are making."Sharp-eyed observers may note that Shaq is sitting alongside Matas Buzelis, a 2024 first-round pick of the Chicago Bulls.
Of course, it'll be a while yet before W players are looking at NBA-level contracts. The highest-paid player in the NBA this upcoming season will be Step Curry, bringing home about $55 million for the season. The highest-paid WNBA player ever is Las Vegas Aces star Jackie Young, who will bring home roughtly $252,000 this season.
So the gap is still quite significant and it'll be many years until it gets on even relatively equal footing. But with advocates like Shaq publicly speaking out in support of closing the gap, and with the sport gaining more fans by the day, it feels more possible than ever before.Liam McKeone is a senior writer for the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated.
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