“They are the reason we tuned in”: LeBron James heaps praise on Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese for lifting prospect of women’s basketball

Thursday, 04 April 2024 at 10:15

The Los Angeles Lakers legendary forward LeBron James has heaped praise on Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese along with others for lifting the prospect of women’s basketball.

The 22-year-old is often regarded as the next big thing as she is set to join the WNBA next season after delivering numerous performances throughout the ongoing campaign at the college basketball level.

Clark, on Monday, once again grabbed all the headlines as Iowa Hawkeyes faced LSU Tigers for the rematch of last year’s Finals.

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The Des Moines-born registered 41 points to go with seven rebounds and 12 assists as the Hawkeyes came out on top with a score of 102-85. She registered nine three-pointers on the night in just 20 attempts, an impressive feat to say the least.

James, while talking to the media after the Lakers' recent win against the Washington Wizards, was full of praise for the likes of Clark and Reece, who according to him are raising the bar in women’s basketball.

"I don't think there's much difference between the men's and women's game when it comes to college basketball," said James. "I think the popularity comes in with the icons that they have in the women's game.

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“You look at Angel Reese, you look at JuJu [Watkins], you look at Caitlin Clark, you look at Paige [Bueckers]. You look at the young girl that's at Iowa State, the freshman there [Audi Crooks]. You look at [Cameron] Brink ... at Stanford. And that's just to name a few. And the freshman that's at Notre Dame [Hannah Hidalgo]. Because they're not allowed to go to the NBA [after their freshman year].

"You're able to build a real iconic legacy at a program. And that's what we all love about it. That's what we all love. We love the girl's game because of that moment you actually get to see those girls [build to]. That's what makes the girl's Final Four and the Elite Eight so great.

“Yeah, Iowa was a great team; Caitlin Clark is the reason we tuned in. You're going to watch Purdue because of Zach Edey, because he's a great player. We watched that Purdue-Tennessee game because of Zach Edey and [Dalton] Knecht. Players, depending on who they are, will drive the attention when it comes to viewership."