NBA legend Earvin “Magic” Johnson shared his views on the impact Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese have made on the WNBA in their rookie season. The LA Lakers joined Paul Pierce, Keyshawn Johnson, and Joy Taylor on Wednesday’s episode of FOX Sports’ “Speak” to talk about Clark and Reese’s “rivalry.”
Taylor asked Magic Johnson about the comparisons fans made between the rivalry between Clark and Reese and his and Larry Bird’s. The five-time NBA champion seemingly approves of the comparison, praising the two women for shining in college and now in the professional league, inspiring younger players.
“I love it because to your point, they dominated in college…and then they brought it over to the WNBA, just like we brought it to the NBA,” Johnson said. “We changed the NBA. They changed the WNBA. And now everything that these young ladies have been fighting for, they’re about to get, right?”
Magic Johnson also celebrated the benefits that the players received in the recent season as well as the new ones they will get in the future.
“They end up getting private planes now. They’re gonna get more money in terms of salary because of the new collective bargaining agreement that the NBA and WNBA did together. So, it’s just amazing the way they were able to go around arenas across the country and sell ’em out, and little girls are now dreaming about being like Caitlin, like Angel and others,” Magic continued.
Clark and Reese’s rivalry began in high school and continued on in their college days when they faced each other for the national championship, with Reese’s team prevailing. In the WNBA, they clashed once more as part of their respective teams, the Fever and the Sky; Clark made it to the playoffs while Reese had her season prematurely end due to an injury.
Magic Johnson shares his theory on plummeting NBA ratings
The ratings of the NBA are down across the board and Magic Johnson may have an idea for the reason behind it. On the same episode of “Speak,” Former Boston Celtics star Paul Pierce asked Magic what happened to the rivalries in today’s games, and the Lakers legend said it’s due to teams “not hating each other” anymore.
“They don’t hate each other. I hated Larry [Bird] and every Celtics,” Magic explained to Pierce. “I really don’t like you, but [now] you’re my little brother. Now I love you because you’re out of that green and white.”
Magic Johnson continued, “The Celtics and Lakers hated each other. It made for great TV and people tuning in… now everybody’s shaking each other’s hand. Everybody likes each other, won’t go at each other really hard.”
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Dan has been active in sports since 2016 and has worked behind the scenes as a scriptwriter for basketball, volleyball, and other sports. At a time, Dan has also been working as a sports commentator for CBA Pilipinas. During the pandemic, he has also been actively writing betting articles for CashBet and BetNow.
