LeBron James Taking On Mentorship Role For Caitlin Clark

There aren't many athletes who understand the pressure Caitlin Clark deals with on a daily basis, but LeBron James is certainly one of them.

James was labeled "The Chosen One" when he was at St. Vincent–St. Mary High School. He was such an impressive prospect that anything less than a Hall of Fame career would be viewed as a failure. With that being said, he managed to exceed everybody's expectations of him.

Clark, on the other hand, is taking women's basketball to new heights. Every regular-season game for the Indiana Fever this season will be either televised or streamed due to her star power.

Prior to the start of the 2026 WNBA season, Clark sat down with ESPN's Malika Andrews to discuss a plethora of topics, including her relationship with the NBA's all-time leading scorer. She revealed that James has offered her plenty of support since she went pro in 2024.

"I think LeBron has been there to support me more than anything. He understands the microscope that I'm under and the spotlight that's on me. I think he just wants to be there for me more than anything," Clark said.

"When I was hurt last year he reached out and was like ‘Is there any way I can help you? Is there anyone I can connect you with? He's just somebody that's there trying to help you, trying to help make the game better, trying to help you improve. I think that's a lot of our relationship now."

Caitlin has already faced some criticism this season.

Earlier this week, ESPN analyst Lawrencia Moten suggested that Indiana's offense might be better without Clark on the floor.

"This is my hot take. Honestly, the Indiana Fever played some of their best team basketball without Caitlin Clark, and that's because she's like the sun that that offense kind of orbits around. The ball is constantly in her hands, which just made their offense extremely easy to guard," Moten said, via The Comeback. "Now, without her in the lineup, (head coach) Stephanie White had to decide who else was going to get in the mix, and their offense became so much more diverse. We saw Kelsey Mitchell have a tremendous season. Lexie Hull got in the fold. Aliyah Boston had another dominant season. All because they had to do it without Caitlin Clark, and that made their offense extremely hard to guard."

These remarks by Moten were made after a panel of ESPN analysts ranked Clark No. 10 among all WNBA players.

We'll see if Clark can silence her critics this season.

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This story was originally published May 9, 2026 at 8:14 AM.