Ever since the WNBA season returned from the Olympic break, Caitlin Clark has been nothing short of electrifying. If the No.1 draft pick had put the league on notice since her debut, she’s unstoppable right now. Her recent games make a strong case for ROTY alongside Angel Reese. Shaquille O’Neal is campaigning for his prodigy to win the title but he’s also had encouraging words for Reese’s biggest rival. And after what Clark did recently, Isiah Thomas had something to say too.

The superstar rookie boosted Indiana Fever’s viewership and fan engagement to record-breaking highs. So a fan had to ask the Pistons legend, point guard to point guard, what he thought about CC. His response was brief, self-explanatory, and bold. “Straight 100.” Can’t deny that!

The rookies have been on a spree of making and breaking records. Clark recently made the WNBA’s assists rookie record while torching the other team. NBA veterans are more obsessed with what she’s doing since the Olympics. After Kevin Garnett, Thomas also made a declaration, ““Let it be known that only a special few in our game’s history can score while assisting teammates.”

Clark is now averaging 17.8 points and 8.3 assists while breaking more records than we can keep up. It’s like she heard someone tell her dealing with the ‘rookie treatment’ is a sure path to success and she ran with it.

Someone who was ‘attacked’ as soon as he came into the league was Shaquille O’Neal. A first overall draft pick and dominant from the get go. If you’d go into the archives of news media in 1992-93, you’d see rival coaches and opponents within the league have harsh words for Shaq. He’d pay it back on court. So he’s felt very empathetic for the criticism and rough play not only Caitlin Clark has received, but also Angel Reese and Cameron Brink. Though Clark is Reese’s biggest rivals, Shaq’s had some motivating words for her recently.

Shaq has personal advice for Caitlin Clark

While talking about Lucky 13, the game show that he’s hosting with Gina Rodriguez, Shaq took a moment to talk about Clark. This was a little before she was on a record breaking spree. “I think they described it as ‘rites of passage’,” he told E! “When you’re a great college player and come to the professional level, you have to prove yourself.”

He knows that feeling well. Where other NBA veterans are ‘calling out the jealous WNBA players’ – like O’Neal’s TNT colleague Charles Barkley – Shaq finds it necessary to give the girls tough skin. “A lot of people think it’s fair, unfair—it’s the nature of our business… I had to go through it. Once you pass the rites of passage, everything will be fine.”

This has been Shaq’s stance on all the CC drama from her debut. And it sounds like he was heard.

Stay tuned for more such updates and join us for the exciting second episode of the “Dual Threat Show” as our host BG12 sits down with Georgia Bulldogs star and Mountain West All-Freshman Team Selection, Asia Avinger.