ALBANY — Larry Bird retired on Aug. 18, 1992, and Magic Johnson retired on May 14, 1996.
Caitlin Clark is 22 years old. She has never seen a clip of Magic or Bird.
“To be honest, I haven’t done it yet,” she said.
Have you never done it?
“No, I’m sorry,” she said, laughing.
Angel Reese will turn 22 in May.
“I’ve seen the footage, but I’ve never seen it live,” she said. “I’m a female basketball player and I don’t really watch the NBA.”
Fans and viewers began watching the NBA in earnest when Magic and Bird took over their college rivalry to the Lakers and Celtics, respectively. But first, the Magic’s Michigan State defeated Bird’s Indiana State in the 1979 NCAA Championship Game in Salt Lake City for the Hall of Fame.
Reese’s LSU defeated Clark’s Iowa in the 2023 NCAA Championship game at the American Airlines Center in Dallas and will defend its title in a Final Four Elite Eight rematch Monday night at MVP Arena. It turns out.
LSU’s 102-85 win over Iowa drew a record-breaking 9.9 million viewers on ABC, according to ESPN.
“Let’s see if we can get over 10 million people tomorrow!” Reese said with a big smile at his locker on Sunday.
These two faces of women’s basketball have helped increase the popularity of the sport. Clark will be the first overall pick by the WNBA Indiana Fever. Reese has not yet decided to turn professional. Their Next Level impact won’t be as dramatic as the Birds or the Magic, but they will undoubtedly continue to increase the popularity of the women’s game.
“What we’ve done for women’s basketball is amazing, and being able to bring so much attention to this sport has really been the best part of this whole journey for me.” Clark said. “To be able to inspire so many young girls is something that both she and I have done, but at the same time there were so many other young women in our game who have accomplished the same thing. .”
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Reese: “I love players who help grow the game, and she is one of them.”
Reese is 6-foot-3 and a power interior player. Clark, 6-0, is a combination of Bird’s shooting and Magic’s (and Bird’s) passing.
“It’s not going to be Angel vs. Kaitlyn tomorrow,” Reese said. “LSU vs. Iowa.”
Of course, it’s basketball, 5-on-5, etc.
“I think it’s going to be a really competitive game between Iowa and LSU,” Clark said. “Nobody’s going to win games. That’s not how things work out for us. We’re at our best when we have multiple guys scoring in double figures, like we were. [in the Sweet 16 against] Colorado. ”
of course. This is not boxing or tennis. But 9.9 million people preferred to watch it as Caitlin Clark vs. Angel Reese last year, and those same 9.9 million people would prefer to watch it as Caitlin Clark vs. Angel Reese again on Monday night. It was Wilt Chamberlain vs. Bill Russell, Tom Brady vs. Peyton Manning, or Patrick Mahomes vs. Josh Allen.
“We have two very talented players who have brought a lot of attention to our sport,” LSU coach Kim Mulkey said. “They both talk trash. They both make their teammates better. They both have their teammates’ backs. They both make our game better than the girls ever have.” It elevated people who had never watched basketball to the point where they watched it. Yeah, tough women.”
Two tough women who are obsessed with winning. Everyone remembers Reese flicking his ring finger to Clark in the championship game, right? Nothing personal.
“It’s OK to talk trash, but don’t make it personal off the court,” Reese said. “I love Kaitlyn and she loves her game. I admire everything she’s done.
“A lot of times, it’s not fun because some players don’t say anything back. But I know that me and Caitlin would work on it if anything. But it just took us out of the competition. She won. I want to win, and we’re both really good players and we want to compete.”
Clark says her trash talk is a byproduct of her competitive passion, which boosts morale for herself and her team.
“Whenever you play against an opponent who is very competitive and has the same drive and will to win, that’s what you like and that’s what your competitors like,” Clark said. . “These are the types of games that make our games great and the ones that people want to turn on the TV and watch. We hope this will help our viewership grow exponentially.”
Greatness recognizes greatness.
“I think she’s just someone who goes out every night and gives it her all,” Clark said. “She’s going to give it her all, everything she’s got, and that’s exactly what you want in a player.”
Greatness recognizes greatness.
“She’s just a murderer,” Reese said. “She gets all her teammates involved. She’s a really smart player and not only does she have a great mentality that gets everyone involved, but she makes great shots and makes great shots.”
There’s a lot more to Clark’s game than that.
“Her death is crazy,” Reese said. “To see her sometimes get 18 assists, sometimes 15 assists, get a double-double as a point guard, and just being able to do that, I know her game is going to go to the next level.” doing.”
What is the appeal of Angel Lease?
“Just being a winner,” Reese said. “I’ll do whatever it takes to win. Even if I don’t score, I’ll get a rebound, get a stop, get a steal. Make the right pass. I love doing everything.”
What’s so special about Caitlin Clark?
“She can score at every level,” Reese said. “She does whatever it takes. She’s also a winner.”
There can only be one winner on Monday night. Both are winners in each other’s eyes.
“I can definitely empathize with the pressure she must be feeling on her shoulders,” Clark said. “For her to be 22 years old and get so much attention, that’s something she has to deal with. I have so much empathy for her, for what she’s been through and for our game. What she was able to do was amazing and really uplift our game and make a lot of young girls want to be like her and give something of themselves because she’s someone to look up to. , which was really cool to see as well.”
Caitlin vs. Angel, sorry. TV is a must see.
