Women's Fastbreak On SI

WNBA Legend Lisa Leslie Gives Caitlin Clark Her Flowers After Fever Win

Lisa Leslie declared her Caitlin Clark fandom on Thursday morning.

Grant Young

Aug 11, 2024; Paris, France; Lisa Leslie looks on before the women's gold medal game between France and the United States during the Paris 2024 Olympic Summer Games at Accor Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 11, 2024; Paris, France; Lisa Leslie looks on before the women's gold medal game between France and the United States during the Paris 2024 Olympic Summer Games at Accor Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports / Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

If there's any women's basketball player who knows what excellence on the court looks like, it's Lisa Leslie.

Leslie is a two-time WNBA Champion, two-time WNBA Finals MVP, three-time WNBA MVP, eight-time All-Star, eight-time All-WNBA First Team honoree, two-time Defensive Player of the Year, and arguably the best female post player in the sport's esteemed history.

While Leslie is now the head coach of a BIG3 professional basketball league team and works as a studio analyst for Orlando Magic broadcasts, she also has time to watch the league she spent over a decade dominating.

Leslie appeared to be watching the Indiana Fever's 84-80 win over the Connecticut Sun Wednesday night because she made an X post that wrote, "Congratulations @CaitlinClark22 I’m so proud of you and you are just getting started!! Let it Rain," on Thursday morning, which included a heart emoji, a prayer hands emoji, and three basketball emojis.

It's great to see a pioneer for women's basketball showing the 22-year-old rookie sensation the love and respect she deserves — which is not something all WNBA legends have been willing to do.

Leslie is right to praise Clark for the string of performances she has produced since the WNBA returned from its Paris Olympics break. She has averaged 22.6 points per game, 7.8 assists per game, and has recorded at least 5 rebounds in all five of the Fever's games in August (in which Indiana has a 4-1 record).

Clark also set the record for most single-season three-pointers made by a rookie on Wednesday.

With her truly legendary playing career now behind her, it's cool to see that Leslie is a Clark fan just like so many others.

Published
Grant Young

GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.

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