Caitlin Clark has taken the WNBA by storm in her rookie season. She’s turned into one of the best players in the league, collecting countless individual accolades, while putting her team in position to compete for a WNBA title.

While Clark has been a trendsetter, she’s received backlash from fans and has even been on the opposing end of some physical plays. As Shannon Sharpe recently explained on his podcast “Night Cap,” Clark has been hit with nearly 20% of the total flagrant fouls in the WNBA.

Following these types of statistics toward Clark, analysts like Charles Barkley have chimed in on the subject. He believes WNBA players are jealous of the rookie and their behavior has the ability to hurt the immense growth of the league.

“These ladies and I’m a WNBA fan, they cannot have f**** this Caitlin Clark thing up any worse if they tried,” Barkley said. “For these women to have this petty jealousness. You’re saying to yourself, ‘D***, what is going on here?'”

After Barkley’s comments, former NBA superstar Shaquille O’Neal chimed into the conversation.

O’Neal doesn’t agree with Barkley; he thinks the hype around Caitlin Clark is getting out of hand. While he thinks Clark is a good player, he thinks other players need their props as well.

He doesn’t think anybody’s actions have been “hating” on the rookie.

“Loudmouths like Chuck are talking about hating , it’s not hating,” O’Neal said. “It’s like, you’re good but let’s slow it down a notch. As good as Caitlin Clark is, we’ve had a lot of young ladies who have been doing good, and not getting props. People like props and they want to feel good when you’re talking about [the league]… It’s not hating. Everybody has to wait their turn.”

O’Neal and Barkley have side-by-side on the “NBA on TNT” panel for years.

After their illustrious playing careers, both of which wound up being NBA Hall of Famers, they joined the analytical side of basketball.

Both basketball figures have been vocal about the WNBA’s growth this season, behind a strong rookie class with Clark and Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese.

Barkley seems to believe there’s backlash from players toward Clark, the leading Rookie of the Year candidate, but O’Neal wants to put the breaks on that conversation.

Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) and Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese (5).

© Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

Caitlin Clark has been phenomenal in her rookie season. She’s struggled in terms of turnovers and efficiency, averaging 5.7 turnovers per game, while shooting 42.3% from the field. Aside from those stats, Clark has been one of the best players in the WNBA.

The 22-year-old is currently averaging 19.2 points, 8.5 assists, and 5.8 rebounds per game. She leads all rookies in average scoring and leads the WNBA in average assists.