LeBron James: ‘Icons’ like LSU’s Angel Reese behind popularity in women’s college basketball

Though her college basketball career is over, Angel Reese’s legacy in helping grow the women’s game is not likely to be forgotten soon.  Reese, who on Wednesday declared for the 2024 WNBA Draft, is one of the “icons” who helped create a groundswell of popularity in women’s college basketball over the last couple of years. At least, that’s the opinion of NBA legend LeBron James, who early Thursday said players such as Reese and Iowa’s Caitlin Clark, among others, are behind the sport’s growing popularity.

“I don’t think there’s too much difference in the men’s and women’s game when it comes to college basketball,” James said. “I think where the popularity comes in is the icons they have in the women’s game. You look at Angel Reese, JuJu (Watkins), you look at Caitlin Clark, you look at Paige (Bueckers).

“You look at the young girl who’s at Iowa State (Audi Crooks), the freshman there. You look at (Cameron) Brink, I believe her last name is, at Stanford. And that’s just to name a few — the freshman that’s at Notre Dame (Hannah Hidalgo).”

LeBron James believes the popularity of the women’s NCAA tournament this year compared to the men’s is the “icons” involved in the women’s game. But he pointed out the Catch-22 of those players growing their profile because they’re prevented from being one-and-done. pic.twitter.com/h1VZXhIwd7

— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) April 4, 2024

James continued to say the players’ popularity — and the popularity of women’s college basketball — is because WNBA draft rules preempt players from being one-and-done, such as is allowed on the men’s side. WNBA rules dictate a player must be 22 years old the year their respective draft takes place in order to be eligible. (Reese turns 22 on May 6).

That rule, then, lets players on the women’s side build a “legacy” at their respective programs.

“You’re able to build a real iconic legacy at a program. And that’s what we all loved about it. That’s what we all love, and we all love the girls’ game because of that moment that you actually get to see those girls. That’s what makes the Final Four and the Elite Eight so great. Iowa’s a great team, but Caitlin Clark’s the reason we tuned in.”

Indeed, ESPN reported that Monday’s Elite Eight matchup between 3 seed LSU and 1 seed Iowa — a rematch of last year’s national championship game — drew record ratings: an average viewership of 12.3 million. The game peaked at 16.1 million, the second-highest margin for a basketball game on ESPN since 2012.

That almost certainly had to do with the “controversy” of last year’s meeting, in which Reese mimicked Clark’s “you can’t see me” celebration with the Tigers’ victory already well in hand. Her gestures during the game and comments made in postgame, while making her a target for online abuse, also made Monday’s Elite Eight game one of the most anticipated in recent memory.

That sort of viewership, LeBron suggested, is harder to come by on the men’s side, considering the sport’s brightest stars either transfer to play for another program or leave for the NBA draft after a season.

“Players, depending on who they are, will drive the attention when it comes to viewership. … But the starpower we have in the women’s game outweighs some of the men too. It’s hard to keep up with a lot of guys too, because of the transfer portal. You know, it’s hard to keep up with a certain individual.”