While she’s still winless in her brief WNBA career, Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark has already made an undeniable impact on the league and sport.
Clark’s debut on May 14 against the Connecticut Sun averaged 2.12 million viewers, the highest mark ever for a WNBA game on an ESPN property and the highest viewership for a WNBA game in general since 2001.
In addition to Clark, the league has also benefitted from an influx of exciting young rookies such as Cameron Brink and Angel Reese.
This week on his Mind the Game podcast, LeBron James spoke about Clark’s impact on the league with co-host (and potential future head coach) J.J. Redick.
https://twitter.com/TheAthletic/status/1793277031586648335
“The one thing that I love that she’s bringing to her sport is that more people want to watch. More people want to tune in. Caitlin Clark is the reason why a lot of great things will happen for the WNBA,” James said.
The NBA’s all-time leading scorer also had a message for the former Iowa Hawkeyes standout, referring to when he was drafted into the league in 2003 and the process his son, Bronny, is currently going through as he prepares for the 2024 NBA Draft.
“For her individually, she shouldn’t get involved with anything being said. Just go have fun. I’m rooting for Caitlin,” he said. “I’ve been in that seat before, I’ve walked that road before. I’m just kind of in this mode right now because I’m getting the same thing from watching my son, a 19-year-old, getting all this hate and animosity when he’s just a kid trying to live out his dream.”
James then passed along a message to critics of Clark, Bronny, and young athletes in general. “There’s a very small number of men and women that actually get to live out their dream of playing a professional sport, and we have grown-ass men and women out here doing whatever they can to make sure that doesn’t happen.”
