Caitlin Clark was starstruck meeting LeBron James: ‘He’s the GOAT to me’
Caitlin Clark met her basketball idol, LeBron James, after a Pacers game in March. Weeks later, he posted their photo — and cheered her triple-double on opening night.
Before the Indiana Fever tipped off the regular season Saturday against the Chicago Sky — marking the official start of Caitlin Clark’s sophomore WNBA campaign — Lakers forward LeBron James posted to his Instagram, where he reaches 159 million followers globally.
It was a carousel of three photos of the two meeting.
His caption: “Good luck and DO YOU per usual this season!!!”
As I reported back on March 31, this was the first time the two basketball stars — both signature Nike athletes — had met. That happened on March 26, outside the locker room at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, after James tipped in the game-winner at the buzzer to lift the Lakers to a 120-119 win. It was the Pacers’ only home loss over a 14-game stretch.
Yet no photos of that interaction surfaced — until now.
Then, during Saturday’s Fever-Sky game, which aired nationally on ABC, James tweeted: “TRIPLE DUB CC!! Great way to kick off the season!” after Clark recorded a 20-10-10 triple-double — her third in just 41 regular-season games as a pro.
Clark, who’s active in the Instagram comment section for teammates and friends, replied to James after the game: “The greatest of all time. Thank you”
Clark sat up in a suite during the game, but she was looking forward to a meeting postgame.
“I knew I was going to meet him when I was coming to the game,” Clark said after practice on Monday. “That's one of my idols. LeBron is the GOAT (greatest of all time) to me.