NBA legend Magic Johnson confirmed what a lot of people have been thinking about star WNBA rookies Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese on Monday.
Johnson compared the two’s ongoing ascent and their impact on basketball to what he and NBA great Larry Bird sparked in the 1980s with the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics, respectively.
It feels like Johnson adding credibility to this comparison gives it real, meaningful weight for how important the Clark and Reese dynamic is to the league and to basketball overall.
To Johnson, the entire sport is being lifted by the two playing each other and using those matchups to sharpen their iron and further establish their legend.
“When I think about Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese’s impact on the game, they remind me a lot of Larry Bird and me,” Johnson wrote on Twitter (X).
“Our first meeting, Indiana State vs. Michigan State, in the NCAA Championship set the all-time viewership record for men’s basketball. Caitlin and Angel’s 2023 NCAA Championship matchup and their 2024 Elite Eight games were the highest viewership records at the time.”
He also pointed out how those two are leading to drastic surges in interest for the WNBA like he and Bird achieved with the NBA during their primes.
“Larry and I heightened the NBA’s overall popularity. The Lakers and Celtics sold out arenas throughout the league and increased television viewership exponentially,” Johnson wrote. “The higher viewership numbers led to the NBA signing significantly larger TV contracts which then led to higher salaries for the players.
“Caitlin and Angel are now doing the same thing, selling out arenas and increasing the viewership. They have taken women’s basketball by storm and with expiring TV deals on the horizon, the WNBA is now in a position to negotiate higher TV contracts and increase salaries for all of the talented players.”
When I think about Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese’s impact on the game, they remind me a lot of Larry Bird and me. Our first meeting, Indiana State vs. Michigan State, in the NCAA Championship set the all-time viewership record for men’s basketball. Caitlin and Angel’s 2023 NCAA…
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) June 24, 2024
Larry and I heightened the NBA’s overall popularity. The Lakers and Celtics sold out arenas throughout the league and increased television viewership exponentially. The higher viewership numbers led to the NBA signing significantly larger TV contracts which then led to higher…
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) June 24, 2024
Johnson also specifically praised Reese for her dominant performance for the Chicago Sky on Sunday in their victory over Clark’s Indiana Fever.
If you missed yesterday’s WNBA matchup where the Chicago Sky defeated the Indiana Fever 88-87, Angel Reese put on a dominate performance with a career-high 25 points and 16 rebounds. @Reese10Angel is the second rookie ever with 25+ points and 15+ rebounds in a single game and…
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) June 24, 2024
For as long as this rivalry goes, the sport will be all the better for it. As Johnson astutely points out, these two are forging some serious goodwill for basketball by playing each other and thriving in the process.
