LeBron James thinks the meteoric rise of women’s college basketball is due in large part to “icons” building a legacy in the game.
That star power, he says, is the differentiator between the women’s and men’s college game.
“I don’t think there’s much difference between the men’s and women’s game when it comes to college basketball,” James said on Wednesday. “I think the popularity comes in with the icons that they have in the women’s game.”
James pointed to JuJu Watkins, Caitlin Clark, Cameron Brink and Paige Bueckers in particular, before also highlighting Iowa State’s Audi Crooks and Notre Dame’s Hannah Hidalgo, who are both freshmen alongside Watkins.
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
The reason the star power is so much bigger than in the men’s game, James says, is due in part because the players aren’t departing for the WNBA after their freshman year.
In a typical year, most of the biggest stars in men’s college basketball will…
