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"My advice to Caitlin, and my advice to anyone
that comes in with this level of notoriety, out-of-this-world
expectation, whatever the case may be: Be a horse, man," James
said on the "Mind the Game" podcast. "... Put your blinders on,
go to work, show up to work, punch your clock in, prepare
yourself, work on your game, work on your craft.
"Kind of keep your mouth shut and just learn from the vets. When
they ask, voice your opinion if they want your opinion early
because everybody is looking for you to say anything and they're
gonna splice it and cut it and make it a negative thing.
"The one thing I love that she's bringing to her sport: More
people want to watch. More people want to tune in. ... Don't get
it twisted, don't get it (messed) up. Caitlin Clark is the
reason why a lot of great things is gonna happen for the WNBA.
... I'm rooting for Caitlin because I've been in that seat
before. I've walked that road before. I hope she kills."
Clark, 22, has experienced somewhat of a learning curve since
guiding Iowa to back-to-back NCAA title game appearances and
becoming NCAA's all-time Division I scoring leader. From there,
she was selected by Indiana with the top overall pick of the
2024 WNBA Draft.
She recorded team-leading averages in points per game (17.0),
assists (5.5) as well as turnovers (6.5) for the Fever, who have
limped out to an 0-4 start.
As for James, he entered the NBA with the top overall pick of
the 2003 draft. The 39-year-old is a four-time NBA champion,
four-time league MVP, 20-time All-Star and the NBA's all-time
leading scorer.
--Field Level Media [© 2024 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
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