NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal has been one of Caitlin Clark‘s biggest backers in recent months and years, but he is also willing to send some criticism her way if he feels it is necessary.

Clark has been enjoying her rookie year in the WNBA with the Indiana Fever and her immense popularity means that some people are very quick to try and tear her down, but Shaq is someone who has stepped in to defend the Iowa alumni at every opportunity.

Caitlin Clark reveals her cool secret handshake with the Indiana Fever

Now during a chat with USA Today, he has said that people do need to ‘calm down’ a bit with their praise and expectations of Clark, with many saying she is going to completely dominate the WNBA landscape for many years to come.

Shaq cools the waters

The current NBA analyst thinks while Clark is great, she “ain’t that great yet.”

“You gotta also understand that we’re not just going to give it to you because everybody else is giving it to you,” O’Neal continued. “You still gotta earn it. Chuck had to go through that, I had to go through that, so I understand what everybody’s doing. Yeah you’re great, but you ain’t that great yet. Calm down.

“We still got Diana Taurasi, we still got A’ja Wilson,” O’Neal added. “If you’re gonna give [Caitlin] props make sure our girls that are dominating in this league get the same props.”

Shaq is certainly right to mention Taurasi as she is viewed as the best player in the WNBA right now and of all time.

She’s currently 42 years old, averaging 15.1 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 3.3 assists per game for the Phoenix Mercury.