[ cheers and applause ] this is "nightline." >> juju: tonight, wnba mania. the league flying high as all-star weekend gets under way. >> the "w" is taking over. >> juju: the rivalry between caitlin clark and angel reese fueling the frenzy. >> it's cool for us to share

this experience together. >> it's a great moment for all of us. >> juju: we're behind the scenes with the new york liberty and the secret weapon the team is using to lure fans. plus, shaquille o'neal. the former nba superstar. >> the orlando magic selects -- shaquille o'neal from louisiana state university. >> juju: and endorsement king now adding game show host to his long list of titles. >> let's play "lucky 13," hit the lights! if you ask people to pay to watch you perform, make sure to give them a great show. >> juju: how he's getting back to music. and coming to america. the sneak peek at those giant pandas and the countdown to their highly anticipated debut at the san diego zoo. >> no application fee if you apply by august 29th at university of maryland global campus, an accredited university that's transformed adult lives for 75 years. you're not waiting to win, you're ready

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♪ >> juju: thanks for joining us. we begin with the wnba. fans can't seem to get enough of the dazzling talent, especially the young rookie sensations, caitlin clark and her rival, angel reese. things are expected to reach a fever pitch when the superstars and the two rookies hit the court tomorrow night for the all-star game. and is there finally hope for a boost to player salaries? here's our ashan singh.

♪ ♪ >> number one, baby! ♪ >> reporter: if you weren't paying attention before, this is what the wnba is all about. a sea of fans. in packed arenas. the highest attendance for games in over a quarter century. the 2024 season is averaginge 1.24 million viewers per game, up a caggering 169% from last year. hotshots taking the sports world by storm. from the stars of the new york liberty to rookie caitlin clark of the indiana fever, and angel reese with the chicago sky, and the las vegas aces' a'ja wilson. their moves on the court fueling

interest as the wnba, or simply the "w," continues to serve. >> this is more exciting than nba. >> energy is way better. >> it's just as competitive as the men's side, just as competitive as the nba. >> it's a movement, a momentum. i think everyone should be getting on board, because it's going to continue to get bigger and bigger. >> reporter: it's all-star weekend in phoenix. big names in the wnba are up against and offering a rare challenge to the perennial gold medal-winning u.s. olympic team. >> it's cool to share this experience together. there's so many young stars, it's going to continue to move forward. >> watching wnba when i was younger, i'd be able to see some games or finding it hard to see the games. i'm excited for the league and where we're going. it's a great moment for all of us. >> reporter: while the whole league is flying high, in brooklyn, one team is dominant. >> we going to win!

the championship! >> reporter: we're going behind the scenes at barclays with one of the league's top teams, the new york liberty. halfway through the season, the liberty perched atop the eastern conference with 21 wins and four losses. >> yeah, i mean, we're feeling really good. it's a good start to the season. obviously a good foundation to build upon. >> reporter: their lineup is stacked. wnba all-star janquo she broke steph curry's three-point record last year. >> i think what's made our league so popular is just the products. the way that we play on the court. continuing to advance our game no matter what. and just being the best we can be. >> when you come into new york, you're going to hear a lot of trash talking, a lot of people that are just really enthused to be here. i think you feel that every time you come into this gym. >> the more we've been able to play together, the better

production is on the court. it's been great to have that second year together this year and playing our best basketball. media coverage has been great. fan attendance has been huge. >> it's his birthday gift, his first game ever, so he's definitely excited. he told us yesterday, the girls play better than the boys. >> i think she sees herself as a future wnba player. it's a great experience to see other women who have made it this far. >> reporter: the nearly 18,000-seat venue filled to the brim. >> 11 of 12 of our games at home have been sellouts thus far. double-digit increases in ticket sales. corporate brands wanting to lock arms and collaborate and activate and figure out ways to bring their brand in association with our brand has increased tremendously as well. >> reporter: the liberty's biggest brand ambassador -- ♪ ellie, the larger-than-life mascot often stealing the show.

we've got to talk about the elephant in the room, ellie. did you realize she was going to resonate with the city in this way? >> ellie has taken on a popularity that i couldn't have imagined. i'm super proud to say we created a diva. >> reporter: do you mind showing me some of your dance moves? needless to say, i don't quite have what it takes to keep up with ellie. i need some work. i think i need some work. >> in the first game for the women's wayne -- >> reporter: since its debut in 1997, the wnba has yielded some of america's most talented and decorated athletes. like lisa leslie, sue bird, and diana taurasi. but unlike soccer, national interest in women's basketball lagged behind. >> there was a ton of excitement about the league in those days. because it was new, and people were interested to see what women's basketball was going to

look like. it started with eight teams. at one point, it ballooned up to 16 teams. then down to 14 and down to 12. >> reporter: espn analyst rebecca lobo was a wnba all-star and one of the league's inaugural players. >> over the course of the last five years, you could feel the popularity of the league growing. the competition on the court was amazing. but then we had the tsunami that is caitlin clark and that is this rookie class that has really elevated the league this season to heights that we haven't seen since the very beginning. >> reporter: rookies caitlin clark of the indiana fever and angel reese of the chicago sky are at the center of the w's rapid rise. >> the indiana fever select -- caitlin clark, university of iowa. >> reporter: their draft into the league breaking the all-time viewing record, averaging 2.4 million views. the second-most-watched nba

draft averaged just over 600,000 views. >> it felt there were a lot more recognizable stars in the women's college game than in the men's college game. and so much of that, of course, is fueled by caitlin clark. she plays the game differently than any woman we have ever seen. i think that's just energized a fan base that maybe hadn't paid as close attention to the women's game in the past. >> reporter: so much has been made out of the rivalry between angel reese and caitlin clark. is it good for the sport? >> i think the rivalry is incredible for the sport. you know, some have likened it to magic johnson and larry bird. people are interested in watching these two young women play. they're in particular interested in these two women play against one another. >> reporter: the fever/sky game in june was the w's most-viewed in 23 years, 2.3 million tuning in. even though the viewership is catching up, the pay is not. men make more money in basketball than women. >> people have to understand

that it was just the reality of the economics of the league. you know, it's not like the league over the course of the past three decades has been making money hand over fist and putting it in their pockets and keeping the women at a low salary. i think they have been relatively fair in what they've been able to pay the women for a five-month season. >> reporter: many were surprised to learn this year's number one draft pick is pocketing just $76,000 for her first season. the top salary in the league just over $250,000 a year. a stark contrast to the nba where larger profits provide starting salaries that often reach the multimillions. as the league becomes more and more popular, do you open, do you think that gap can start to close? >> certainly with the next collective bargaining agreement, you're going to see a huge increase in salaries because there's been a huge increase in the new tv deal. that's where so much of the money comes. >> reporter: the wnba has reached a preliminary media deal with nbc, amazon, and disney, the parent company of abc, worth

about $2.2 billion over 11 years. this new package six times bigger than its previous deal. >> i'm really eager next year to find out where the salaries are going to be. because they are much different -- they will be much different than where they are now. one thing that's really encouraging, though, is that the sponsorship dollars have grown tremendously. >> you've seen the spike. you've seen the attendance. the numbers. everything has grown these past few years. but we're not satisfied. we want to continue to be better. just being appreciated for who we are and what we do as "w" players. >> juju: our thanks to ashan. you can watch the wnba all-star game right here on abc at 8:30 p.m. eastern tomorrow night. coming up, shaquille o'neal, the former nba superstar now taking on a new game and yet another title. to help protect from hiv, i prep without pills. with apretude,

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bryant. >> bryant to shaq -- >> reporter: and the miami heat, winning four nba championships along the way. >> i want to say thank you all for believing in us. we're going to get one next year, too. >> reporter: now shaq is taking on a new type of game, a game show. >> are you feeling lucky? >> always. >> let's play "lucky 13." >> reporter: "lucky 13," where each week contestants answer 13 throug true or false-questions. >> get all 13 correct, you get $1 million. a lot of episodes, a lot of interesting characters. wish i could tell you what happened, but you will definitely be excited, trust me. >> reporter: it's tricky, seems like it could get challenging. >> i learned a lot. >> reporter: learned a lot doing it? >> i was playing along, in my mind saying the answer, it wasn't the answer. i didn't know that. >> reporter: shaq's cohost, gina rodriguez, best known for her star turn in the hit show "jane the virgin." >> don't forget this. >> gina was definitely a

superstar. she did most of the work, she did a fabulous job. >> reporter: any tips or anything that you can keep in mind from your basketball days to broadcasting that you brought with you to the game show set? >> yeah, just if you're going to ask people to watch you to perform, give them a good show. >> reporter: shaq's gift for showmanship has made him stand out on the court and off. he was the number one draft pick in 1992. >> the orlando magic selects shaquille o'neal from louisiana state university. >> reporter: his towering frame and megawatt smile making him an instant celebrity. on the court, he was unstoppable, becoming one of the best centers in the league. >> we have been shaq attacked. ♪ all you jealous ♪ >> this guy's so big, he's already got an autobiography, a hit rap album, and a hollywood movie coming out this spring. that's all you've done in the year, just an album, just a movie, just being rookie of the

year? what do you do in your spare time? >> reporter: barbara walters even named him one of her most fascinating people in 1993. >> you're happy now? >> oh, yes. >> best year of your life? >> no. i think the best years have yet to come. >> reporter: off the court, he became one of the league's most bankable stars, landing a string of lucrative endorsements out of the gate. most famously rebook. >> don't fake the funk on a nasty dunk. >> reporter: this commercial airing during the 1993 super bowl. at the time, shaq helped turn rebook into a must-have shoe in the competitive sneaker wars. >> i remember when we were a close number two behind nikes. >> reporter: i was wearing reeboks, i remember. in high school with the hightops, the white ones, the pink ones, the yellow ones. shaq played for 19 seasons in the nba before retiring in 2011 at the age of 39. >> this is my game room. >> reporter: he spoke to

"nightline" about his decision to hang up his size 21 sneakers and focus full-time on his expansive and varied business empire, crediting magic johnson with giving him some priceless advice. >> magic capulls me aside, "it' good that you're the man, but you need to start owning things." i called my mother, "what do you think he's talking about? "you're not going to play ball forever, have something to fall back on." >> reporter: now 52 years old, shaq is reportedly worth over $400 million and is the face of dozens of products from i krc to pennsylvania papa john's pizza to jcpenney. what advice would you give to young athletes who hope to develop their own personal brands like you are? >> my advice would be, save it. don't touch it. take $100,000 for myself, give my mother $400, put the $500,000 away. every deal i got after that, put it away, put it away.

don't even look at it. really teach myself financial literacy. learn what to do with that money. then not touch it at all. >> where's shaq? >> introduce the man in the middle! >> reporter: since 2011, shaq's been the cohost of tnt's hit show "inside the nba." this year he returned to reebok as president of their basketball division, hoping to up the brand's sneaker game. what motivated you to do that? >> i wanted to be the guy to get them back on top. >> reporter: reebok just signed wnba rookie sensation angel reese, announcing it on instagram. shaq is a father of six. three of his kids play basketball. but shaq says his daughter, miara, the youngest, is a standout. >> she works out with my sons. i think it's fair to say one day, if she continues, miara will probably be the best woman's basketball player ever, she's that good. >> reporter: she was featured alongside her dad on

"sportscenter's out of the shadow." >> i'm telling you, forget about me. who cares? i did what i did. this ain't my time, this is your time. >> reporter: shaq now lives in las vegas. you're now going one on one with shaquille o'neal. where "lucky 13" is filmed. what's a regular day in the life for you? >> i don't leave the house until 7:00 p.m. because i'm a vampire and it's hot as hell out there. when the sun starts to go down, i'll eat dinner, hang out. >> reporter: and when the sun goes down -- dj diesel comes to life. shaq often sharing his performances on instagram. >> i've been deejaying since high school. >> reporter: did you put it on hold for a bit? >> i got away from it, then went to a festival. t.s. was performing to 100,000 people out there. it gave me the same adrenaline rush that i had. i compare to it being in the game seven. i do clubs, parties, events. my motto is, if you're going to ask people to pay to watch you

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♪ >> juju: finally tonight, it's the giant pandas on loan from china getting ready for their public debut in san diego. a sight more than two decades in the making. the pandas hanging out at the san diego zoo's panda ridge habitat. we're getting a sneak peek of the duo before their public debut on august 8th. they landed in theist late last month and the zoo is keeping close tabs on the pandas, monitoring their weight, appetite, and their health. >> a moment where i get to pinch myself and think that i get to be part of an organization that gets to do this. be able to have such an impact on such a remarkable species as pandas. just a very special moment. >> juju: so far, they seem to be liking their new digs. worth a trip to san diego. that's "nightline." you can watch full