Shaquille O’Neal has never been one to stay silent on issues plaguing the basketball world, men’s or women’s. On the Off The Record podcast, the Hall of Fame big man made headlines once again by suggesting a bold change to the WNBA: lower the rim. His reasoning? Dunks. Highlights. And ultimately, more money.
“$200,000 a year. That’s a disgrace. A’ja Wilson should be making $10 million a year.”
“I never knew that. So now, we got to lower the rim. If you want to make more money, let Caitlin go baseline and fingertip dunk. And Angel, the way she does her layup like that, let her turn that wrist over one time and throw it down.”
“Trust me on this. I’m telling you. I’ve always said something to Candace on how the game would grow. I was doing the Shaq verse one time, and I was training with the women’s volleyball team. I’m spiking, I’m looking like an Olympic volleyball player.”
“But then when I get to the guys, I’m barely spiking. So I said, hey. She said, yeah, the net’s just lowered a little bit. And in women’s golf, guys are back here, the women are right there, right? What’s the only thing that’s missing from the women’s game and the guys’ game?”
“I’m not saying lower it to a clown rate. Again, don’t go from 10 feet to 8 feet, but just… yeah. That’s the only difference from our game.”
For context, A’ja Wilson, three-time MVP and one of the faces of the league, is currently on a two-year, $400,000 deal with the Las Vegas Aces, averaging $200,000 per season. Caitlin Clark, despite being the biggest draw in women’s basketball today, is making just $84,514 per year on her four-year deal with the Indiana Fever. Angel Reese is even lower, at $81,096 annually.
Compare that to the NBA’s top earner, Stephen Curry, who raked in $55 million in 2024-25, and is projected to earn $59.6 million next season. In other words, Curry makes more in one game than A’ja Wilson will in two full seasons, and likely more in a single half than Clark and Reese combined will make in four years.
Shaq isn’t calling out the players; he’s calling out the system. And in his eyes, part of the solution lies in entertainment value.
Critics may say it’s a gimmick. But Shaq believes it’s a potential path to growth, more highlights, more viewership, more marketability. And if that results in bigger paydays for deserving stars like Wilson, Clark, and Reese, maybe it’s worth considering.
Because when a generational talent like Caitlin Clark can’t earn six figures in a season while averaging millions of eyeballs per game, something’s broken and Shaq wants to fix it, rim and all.
