Shaquille O'Neal cites '$300M' factor after A'ja Wilson rejects his pitch to lower WNBA rims

Las Vegas Aces superstar A'ja Wilson isn't on the same page as NBA legend Shaquille O'Neal over lowering WNBA rims. During an appearance on Angel Reese's podcast, "Unapologetically Angel," Shaq made that pitch after using Caitlin Clark as a reference to suggest the league should provide viewers with what they want.

In the case of Clark, she can shoot 3s. For the others, especially bigger players, it could be dunking. However, not many women athletes can dunk with the hoop's current official height, which is 10 feet.

Wilson disagrees, though. During an appearance on "The Roommate's Show," podcast, Wilson heard the same thing from Knicks star Jalen Brunson. However, the reigning 3x MVP opposed Shaq's and Brunson's pitch, saying:

"I would much rather just gear my offseason to 'Okay, verti[cal] maxing it out, let's focus on this jumping.'"

"Versus lowering it an inch? That could change all of our shots. Do y'all not understand that?"

After learning about A'ja Wilson's opinion, Shaquille O'Neal responded to the Aces star on his Instagram on Sunday.

"60% of the fan said Dunking their favorite thing," Shaq said. "The WNBA has none of that. So they make much less money. Just trying to get you that 300 million dollars you deserve @aja22wilson #shaqwbnacommisioner. Love yall @wnba"

For years, the WNBA has been widely considered an inferior league to the NBA because of factors like dunking, which excites fans. That contributed to the women's league's lack of viewership and way lower salaries for the players than NBA stars, as the WNBA wasn't profitable for years.

Nevertheless, Caitlin Clark changed that narrative significantly last year with her ability to shoot like Steph Curry from range. The new wave of women's basketball stars, including Angel Reese, Paige Bueckers, Cameron Brink, and JuJu Watkins, have also drawn attention to women's basketball.

As A'ja Wilson said, lowering the rim could lead to multiple adjustments for every player, especially keeping their jump shooting in mind. Most players are excellent at that skill and have played with a 10-foot hoop for most of their careers.

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A'ja Wilson considers the WNBA to have the toughest schedule

A'ja Wilson thinks the WNBA has the toughest schedule of any sport. She cited the transition from a rookie to a pro as a major factor behind her claim. During an appearance on "The Roommate's Show" podcast, Wilson said:

"Yeah, for sure. For us, our rookie orientation is not anything too crazy. It's like a day before the draft and you're sitting and talking, but, like, we don't get to go workout for teams, we don't have a combine.

"You literally go from college, I remember it was like, I went in, I got drafted, I did training camp and I came back to college just to walk to graduate and then I had to go play my first preseason game."

Wilson added that the Aces, in particular, had a rough schedule last year because they had six players on the Olympic team. Other rosters could go on vacation or take a break and practice, but the Aces didn't have the luxury.