"Caitlin Clark fans don't see her as a threat at all": WNBA Twitter reacts to JuJu Watkins' take on Fever star's 'white privilege' controversy

When Caitlin Clark won Time Magazine's Athlete of the Year award following a year where she made waves at the NCAA and WNBA levels, Washington Mystics owner Sheila Johnson chalked the situation up to race. The way she sees things, Time should have given the honor to the league as a whole.

This sparked widespread debate as fans weighed in on Clark winning the award. However, the way USC star JuJu Watkins sees things, the Indiana Fever star deserved it.

In an interview with Fox News on Wednesday, Watkins discussed the situation, saying that she believes no other player has altered the trajectory of the sport as much as Clark has over the past year.

With numerous attendance and viewership records at the NCAA and WNBA levels, the 'Caitlin Clark' effect seems hard to deny. From JuJu Watkins's perspective, Clark deserves credit for elevating the sport.

"I'm all for it. I honestly think she deserves it. I don't think anyone has changed the trajectory of the sport so much, so I honestly think she deserves every bit of it."

In response to her reaction, the WNBA community weighed in, praising Watkins for standing up for Caitlin Clark.

"Juju is cool because shes pushed by the media but CC fans dont see her as a threat at all! We are territorial fans of CC. Juju doesnt pose any threats," - One wrote.

"juju, you’ll always be cool in my book. Squabbles w ur fans sometimes won’t change that," - Another added.

"So many people want to put Juju against Caitlin so bad, but Juju will always be loved by the FC," - Another fan replied.

Others weighed in with their opinions:

"Same Juju is awesome can’t wait till game on 2/2. People call me crazy with that energy they’re that day it’s gonna be closer than expected," - One wrote.

"Juju 100% correct and well said," - Another replied.

"No lies detected," - One added.

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"She's a fabulous player," - Shaquille O'Neal weighs in on Caitlin Clark winning Time Magazine's Athlete of the Year award

While Caitlin Clark's Athlete of the Year win didn't go over well with Washington Mystics owner Sheila Johnson, Hall of Famer and four-time NBA champion Shaquille O'Neal was nothing but complimentary of the 2024 WNBA Rookie of the Year.

While O'Neal has a good relationship with Angel Reese going back to her days at LSU, given that he was an LSU star before jumping to the NBA, he has nothing but good things to say about Clark.

In an interview with TMZ, the NBA legend was asked about Caitlin Clark's Athlete of the Year award:

"Congratulations to her; she's a fabulous player, Caitlin (and) my girl Angel definitely brought a lot of publicity to the WNBA, but we can't forget about all the other WNBA greats. A'ja, Sabrina, Diana, all the women that's playing great. They're finally getting the credit they deserve."

While Shaq had previously dubbed himself one of Clark's haters given that he's been a mentor to Angel Reese, back in September, the former Lakers star said that despite wanting to be critical of Caitlin Clark, after watching her play, he was impressed by her game and her basketball IQ.

While Clark winning Time's Athlete of the Year award has created quite a bit of debate around whether or not another athlete deserved the honor, it sounds like the Indiana Fever star has plenty of support from the basketball community, including JuJu Watkins and Shaquille O'Neal.