The WNBA’s Rookie of the Year award race between Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese has caused a divide between fans, analysts, and former players alike.

Many believe the Indiana Fever star is the runaway favorite, while others claim the Chicago Sky center should win the prize.

Recently, Shaquille O’Neal also gave his two cents and backed Reese to win the award, which did not sit well with analyst Nick Wright. 

In an interview with ESPN-W, the Hall of Famer called Clark a ‘fabulous player’ but claimed that the Sky star was leading the race in his eyes.

He added that he wasn’t backing Reese due to his close relationship with her or her ties with LSU. He genuinely believes she deserves the award. However, Wright isn’t buying it.

On his show ‘Whats Wright? With Nick Wright,’ the analyst graded Clark’s stellar campaign an ‘A,’ and claimed anyone denying that she’s been amongst the best players in the league is being dishonest. He also addressed O’Neal’s comments, saying,

“I saw Shaq yesterday come out and said that Angel Reese was the Rookie Of The Year and, she is not. Could it change post-Olympics, maybe…Right now it’s pretty clear that if we are doing a fair voting. Up to this point if they voted. There should be a unanimous first place and a unanimous second place. No one should have Angel lower than two.”

Wright added that the only valid criticism of Clark is her league-leading turnover stats, but noted that she’s the top assist-provider in the WNBA, an incredible feat for a rookie.

The analyst argued that Reese has undoubtedly had a terrific campaign, but it pales in comparison to the Fever star’s campaign.

The guard leads the center in every major statistical category, except rebounds. Clark is also shooting better from the field, despite averaging nearly eight more three-point attempts per game than Reese.

The Sky star’s bid to win the award gained momentum during her 15-game double-double run, the longest streak in WNBA history.

However, the Fever guard also had a couple of record-breaking performances. In her team’s upset win over the New York Liberty, Clark scored 19 points, dished 13 assists, and hauled in 12 rebounds to become the first rookie in WNBA history to record a triple-double.

She added another feather to her cap in her team’s final game before the All-Star Weekend. In the Fever’s narrow loss to the Dallas Wing, Clark broke the WNBA’s single-game record for assists. She dished 19, surpassing Courtney Vandersloot’s previous mark of 18, which she set in 2020.

By every metric, the Fever star is the frontrunner to win the award. Perhaps O’Neal is being a little dishonest and is biased towards his niece.