Getty Shaquille O'Neal and Caitlin Clark.
Caitlin Clark is one of the best college women’s basketball players of all time, and arguably the best, and she is the top scorer in NCAA women’s history. But could she play in the NBA?
No other than basketball legend Shaquille O’Neal fueled talk about whether Clark could make it in the NBA, when he shared a quote from sports journalist Rob Parker, who is pushing the idea. O’Neal also declared that he believes Clark is the best collegiate player in history. There are entire Reddit threads devoted to the question.
Y’all are crazy if you think Caitlin Clark can’t play in the NBA
“She’s incredible,” O’Neal said during a TNT broadcast. “Congratulations to her and her family. The greatest thing is I’m just seeing her last year when they played LSU. She’s phenomenal. I’m gonna go on the record and say she’s the best female collegiate player ever.”
However, others believe that Clark would not have the strength or size to compete against much larger NBA players, and she has said she is joining the WNBA, not the NBA. However, she does have an offer on the table to play in a different men’s pro league against former NBA players: Ice Cube’s Big3 League, the rapper confirmed on X.
One former NBA player in the Big3, Kenyon Martin, said on a podcast that he doesn’t believe Clark would be able to score playing against men in the Big3.
“It’s a step under prison ball. Could you imagine her getting stuck down on Reggie Evans?” Martin said on a podcast, according to Fox News. “Just take for s**** and giggles this was a real thing, if she was able to participate and he put her out there.”
He added: “She would not score one… It’s 3-on-3, she can’t hide nowhere.” Some of the Reddit comment writers are also skeptical, with one writing, “No idk how anyone with a brain could think this either. She’s small for a point in the nba, shoots with a smaller ball, closer 3, different rules. There’s no f****** way.”
However, another well-known basketball player does think Clark would be able to score, and Parker thinks her three-point ability makes the difference.
Here’s what you need to know:
A Top Sports Journalist Says He’s ‘Convinced’ That Caitlin Clark Could Play in the NBA
Although it’s no longer visible on his page, O’Neal shared a quote by podcaster and sports journalist Rob Parker, who said in a podcast, “I am convinced that Caitlin Clark could play in today’s ‘soft’ NBA.”
By “soft” NBA, Sportskeeda explained that Parker was referencing rules changes that favor offensive players. Although Shaq didn’t include a comment on his own, some sites interpreted his share of the comment as a tacit sign he agrees.
Sportskeeda noted that Clark stands just 6 foot tall and weighs 150 pounds, saying she “might not have the stature and size to survive a grueling 82-game schedule.”
According to Fox Sports Radio, Parker also said, “This is not disrespect to him [Ice Cube] but Caitlin Clark is too big for the Big3 and not only that, she’s too big for the WNBA. I am convinced that Caitlin Clark should play for an NBA team, NOT a WNBA team. This ain’t no stunt like Eddie Gaedel with the White Sox. Remember they had the small person who they tried to get him to walk every at bat? This is not a sideshow. This is not the bearded lady at the circus.”
He added:
The NBA right now is so soft as far as physical play. They allow almost anyone to just take three-point shots, and I really believe that Caitlin Clark could put up threes in this man’s NBA. This is not 2004, this is not the 90’s, this is an NBA where the three-ball is open, and it’s open to be had. We just saw Steph Curry go up against a female [Sabrina Ionescu] in the three-point shooting contest. I’m telling you she could play, she could make shots in the NBA. If they get her on some screens, they can open her up for some shots, some open looks… Nancy Lieberman already played in a men’s league and that wasn’t taking threes. In this NBA where you’re not physical, where you can put up threes, I’m telling you, I think she could make threes in the NBA. I’m not saying she’s gonna be a star. We’re not asking her to be the best player in the league we’re asking her to make some threes.
With the way they play the game now from the perimeter – she’s putting up shots from the logo! Why can’t she do that in the NBA? We just saw an All-Star Game where they didn’t even put their hands up defensively. There are a lot of open shots that you see in the NBA every night. She’s not going to be the star of the team but could she play and put up some shots? YES. She too good for the WNBA and that would be a waste of talent. She’s the greatest shooter we’ve ever seen from the perimeter for the women’s game; if you’re going to give someone an opportunity [a women playing in the NBA for the first time], it should be her. Can we have her go to training camp? Can we have her fail? Can some NBA team give her an opportunity? What is so wrong with trying and giving her an opportunity??”
According to Fox Sports Radio, two women “have been drafted in the NBA Draft, Denise Long in 1969, and Lusia Harris in 1977, but neither ever appeared in a game.”
A Prominent Former NBA Player Thinks Caitlin Clark Could Score More Than 10 Points
GettyCaitlin Clark.
Former NBA player Kevin Garnett believes Clark could score points if she played in the NBA, according to Sports Illustrated.
“She can get more than a bucket,” Garnett said in a podcast. “She can get more than 10. … She gonna give you more than 10 (points) — she can shoot and she got work, bro.”
Other NBA players have also praised Clark’s skills. “Honestly, she reminds me a lot of — the way that she controls the game and play makes and gets everybody but also the stepbacks and her shot — she reminds me a lot of Luka [Doncic],” Bulls player Coby White told reporters.
On the Reddit thread about whether Caitlin Clark could play in the NBA, though, fans have their doubts. “As a stunt sure. But the differences between her and the absolute worst man in the league are massive. She couldn’t get a shot off in the nba and would be head and shoulders the worst defender/rebounder in the league,” one wrote.
Another comment writer added, “Yeah maybe as a fringe garbage timer that can hit a couple 3s here and there like a Quinn Cook. Her size limitation and lack of strength would be too much of a con but i could see her as a 15th roster spot maybe only because she’s so good at shooting.”
Caitlin Clark Has Said She Will Be Playing in the WNBA, Not the NBA
Although she has one year of college eligibility left, Clark said in February that she will enter the WNBA draft.
“While this season is far from over and we have a lot more goals to achieve, it will be my last one at Iowa,” Clark said in a statement posted to X. “I am excited to be entering the 2024 WNBA Draft.”
She’s expected to be chosen by the Indiana Fever, according to Sports Illustrated, which holds the number one draft pick.
Caitlin Clark Has Received a $5 Million Offer to Play in Ice Cube’s Big3 League
Should Caitlin Clark take the $5 MILLION? 💰 @CaitlinClark22 @icecube @thebig3
According to TMZ, Clark has received a $5 million offer to play just 10 games in Ice Cube’s Big3 League. That would see her play against former NBA players in the men’s professional league.
Although he did not confirm the amount, Ice Cube did confirm the offer in a series of posts on X.
“We intended the offer to remain private while Caitlin Clark plays for the championship. But I won’t deny what’s now already out there: BIG3 made a historic offer to Caitlin Clark. Why wouldn’t we? Caitlin is a generational athlete who can achieve tremendous success in the BIG3,” Ice Cube wrote.
“The skeptics laughed when we made Nancy Lieberman the first female coach of a men’s pro team, and she won the championship in her first year. Then Lisa Leslie won it all in year two. With our offer, Caitlin Clark can make history and break down even more barriers for women athletes,” he continued.
However, it’s not clear whether Clark would accept this offer. USA Today thinks she will not, noting that “there are different rules in the BIG 3 that emphasize defense and promote a more physical style of play.”
READ NEXT: Caitlin Clark’s Family.
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Could Caitlin Clark Play in the NBA? Shaq Post Fuels Talk