There is no argument that Caitlin Clark is the next superstar of women’s basketball. In fact, she’s already one, if you think about it, and she’s bringing about an unprecedented revolution to the sport. Her allure began with her dominance in Iowa, capturing the all-time NCAA record for points, and her impact on the WNBA was instant. Viewership rocketed to uncharted territory, and television ratings spiked. The only thing is she’s been left out of the Paris Olympics roster, enraging debate among fans.

Vividly discussing this topic is our NBA correspondent, Vishal Kolar, with Shaquille O’Neal’s ex-agent, Leonard Armato, in another exclusive interview with EssentiallySports. The USA Basketball Selection Committee chair, Jen Rizzotti, said Clark’s snub was because of her inexperience. However, Armato, the riveting brand builder, defended Clark’s case and dictated the story of a forgotten basketball legend who was picked over Shaq for the honor of the 1992 Dream Team.

Kolar: “Do you think Team USA made the right call snubbing her or is it a basketball decision that she got left off the team? Is this only basketball?”

Armato: “Caitlin Clark is the biggest story in women’s basketball by far. It is not even a close second. So everything she does, everybody looks, everybody watches. Forget about whether she is the best or not the best. She is probably the most exciting player in basketball because of her long-distance shooting in terms of women’s basketball. So she’s the most popular, she’s exciting – probably the most exciting – and there’s really a precedent for allowing a college athlete to come on the Olympic team. At least they usually have one of them come up there.” 

Armato then dove into the tale of how Shaq, arguably the best college prospect in 1992, lost a spot on the iconic Dream Team. Since it was the first time NBA players were allowed to participate in the Olympics, USA Basketball decided to send the best players in the league along with one college athlete, who could learn a lot from the experience. The guy selected over the Big Diesel was a Blue Devil legend immortal for ‘The Shot.’

Armato: “I remember going all the way back to Christian Laettner. He came out of Duke, and they put him on the Olympic team instead of Shaquille O’Neal. So there’s been precedent for that. I think they made a mistake not to put her on, quite frankly because it would definitely juice up television ratings for them for sure. It would definitely increase interest in Team USA for sure. The question of whether she is better right now than some of these WNBA vets: Okay, maybe they are better still because she hasn’t quite acclimated to the WNBA game. But there’s no reason to leave her off the team because it is always going to help the team.”

While Laettner’s selection over Shaq remains a topic of contention to date, we all know how O’Neal’s career panned out. However, the point Armato makes is that since a college star was selected among the greatest talent ever assembled, the same could have been done with 22-year-old Clark, who is a bigger star right now than either Shaq or Laettner was.

Nonetheless, she wasn’t disheartened by her exclusion. The Fever rookie, instead, has vowed to work harder and earn a spot during the next tournament. Like any other player before her, she used it as motivation. In the very next game after the announcement, she dropped 30, a WNBA career-high. Fever’s head coach then revealed their conversation regarding her Team USA snub. “The thing she said was, ‘Hey, Coach, they woke a monster,’ which I thought was awesome.” While Clark channeled the feeling of being snubbed into her game on the floor, the basketball community had a wildfire reaction.

Caitlin Clark’s Olympics exclusion became the hottest topic in basketball

Stephen A. Smith and other renowned analysts claimed it was shameful for the officials to omit her from the competition. However, Kevin Durant, a three-time gold medalist and a long-time servant of the flag, felt there are certain parameters to meet before one can be called an Olympian. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Durant explained, “I still think there are proper steps you gotta take in our world to be considered an Olympian. I think she’s gonna definitely be on one of these teams going forward, but right now, there are better candidates out there, I think.”

Team USA has opted for veteran stars for the upcoming competition, headlined by Diana Taurasi, Brittney Griner, and A’ja Wilson. But then again, as Smith said, the team has won seven straight gold medals. Alluding to this fact, they might have preferred young and ambitious stars like Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese for the team.

The thing is, reports suggested that – besides Caitlin Clark’s inexperience on the professions and international stage – Team USA left her out to avoid potential backlash because the organization predicted the 22-year-old wouldn’t get much playing time compared to the veterans. Another contradicting fact to Durant’s claim is that it is only the first time since 1976 that Team USA doesn’t have two players under the age of 25 on their roster. The youngest are Liberty’s Sabrina Ionescu and Las Vegas star Jackie Young, who are both 26.

That is all from this segment of our conversation with the super agent Leonard Armato. Be on the lookout for more such exciting stories from the interview soon.