The 2023-24 Los Angeles Lakers are hoping to honor the late Kobe Bryant with a playoff run and title as they work their way up the standings.
Bryant helped lead the iconic franchise to five NBA Championships, and although the Lakers captured their 17th title in 2020, they’ve struggled to find that level of success again. Despite healthy seasons from LeBron James and Anthony Davis, Los Angeles is far behind the pack and face an uphill battle to even qualify for the postseason.
However, things couldn’t be any more different for Caitlin Clark, who has got women’s college basketball buzzing after another big-time performance. Clark, who recently broke the NCAA’s all-time scoring record and received a shoutout from LeBron James, led the Hawkeyes to their third consecutive Big Ten Women’s Tournament championship.
After winning more hardware, Clark decided to pay homage to Bryant by reenacting one of his most famous poses, via Iowa’s X account:
Iconic. @CaitlinClark22 x #Hawkeyes pic.twitter.com/7fjKqh9wbO
— Iowa Women's Basketball (@IowaWBB) March 10, 2024
Bryant’s photo in the shower shortly after the Lakers’ win over the Philadelphia 76ers in the 2001 NBA Finals is one of the most famous images in NBA history and Clark does him justice with her rendition. Bryant was one of the largest proponents of the women’s game, and there’s no doubt that he would be proud of Clark and what she’s managed to accomplish so far in her career.
Clark had a slow start in the championship game, scoring four points in the first half, which led to a 13-point deficit. However, Clark went on to explode offensively in the second half, dropping 30 of her 34 points to lead Iowa to another championship.
Clark has already declared she will enter the 2024 WNBA Draft and is the consensus pick to go first overall to the Indiana Fever. Women basketball’s popularity is at an all-time high with players like USC’s JuJu Watkins and Clark leading the way and it’ll be exciting the next wave of athletes push the game forward like Bryant would’ve wanted.
Lamar Odom recalls Kobe Bryant proclaiming superiority over Michael Jordan
Kobe Bryant never lacked confidence which was apparent as soon as he stepped foot in the NBA back in 1996. The younger version of Bryant was bold, brash and chomping at the bit to prove himself against the league’s best players.
Bryant always relished the challenge of playing against his idol Michael Jordan and former teammate Lamar Odom recalled a time when the Lakers guard claimed superiority over the Chicago Bulls legend.
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