LEBRON James has come to Angel Reese’s defense after the LSU star faced criticism for taunting Iowa’s Caitlin Clark in the women’s NCAA Tournament final.
The Tigers beat the Hawkeyes 102-85 on Sunday, claiming the first national championship in the program’s history.
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The Hawkeyes entered the title-deciding game as favorites after triumphing over the unbeaten South Carolina in the Final Four.
And they did so in big part thanks to Clark, who dropped 41 points in a second straight game to send the Gamecocks home.
Two days later, the 2023 women’s college basketball Player of the Year went off for 30 points and eight assists in the March Madness final, but her individual heroics weren’t enough to overcome LSU’s roster depth.
And Reese made sure the defeat stung.
As the clock was winding down with the Tigers up by 17, the six-foot-three wing turned to Clark and mocked her with John Cena’s “You Can’t See Me” gesture.
Reese followed the Hawkeyes guard on the court for about 15 seconds, waiving her hand before pointing to the ring finger on her right hand to show who would be celebrating the championship later that night.
Her taunts mimicked Clark’s celebration from the Elite Eight win over Louisville when Iowa’s star made the “You Can’t See Me” gesture after knocking down her sixth 3 of the game.
Still, Reese faced a huge amount of criticism for her mocking after the Sunday game.
James defended the Tigers sophomore on social media, quote-tweeting a post that read: “Angel Reese to all the haters after winning the national championship.
The tweet featured a meme showing Angela Bassett as Bernadine Harris pointing to a burning car before turning around and walking away in Waiting to Exhale.
The Los Angeles Lakers All-Star retweeted the post and wrote: “FACTS!!!! Love to see it.”
And he wasn’t the only NBA icon to defend Reese.
Shaquille O’Neal lashed out at media personalities Dave Portnoy and Keith Olbermann in response to their profanity-laced criticism of the LSU star.
Reese did it all for LSU on Sunday, ending the championship game with 15 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, three steals, and a block.
