The women’s games this March Madness have not had a single moment that wasn’t thrilling. After those nail-biters in the Final Four, it’s time to pick sides for the national title. Magic Johnson has. Despite his undying fan craziness for Caitlin Clark and her clutch moments, he’s knighted another player and a team as the best in his books.

“I’m really looking forward to the Iowa vs South Carolina matchup for the National Championship! South Carolina is the best team in the country and they have the chance to prove it this Sunday!” he declared after the Hawkeyes and Gamecocks advanced to the Final. He’s already declared Camilla Kardoso the best collegiate player. Obviously, her team is also a winner to him.

South Carolina pulled a shocking 78-59 win over NC State. Cardoso led the team with 22 points and 11 rebounds in 23 minutes. In contrast, UConn and Hawkeyes kept it thrilling only for it to end flatly when the ref made an untimely call on Huskies’ Aaliyah Edwards. With four seconds left in the game, the score stood at 70-69 for Iowa with the opportunity to tie or overturn the game taken from the Huskies by the ref.

As much as that bad call is taking over debate circles, it doesn’t change the results. The Gamecocks and Hawkeyes will bring the lingering energy from their 2023 Final Four clash in the title game.

It doesn’t hurt to prematurely pick sides (until your side loses) and Magic Johnson just did. It’s not new either. He made his loyalties clear before finding out who the Gamecocks’ opponents were.

Magic Johnson keeps it balanced

After South Carolina won, Magic Johnson obviously wrote some words of praise on X. But he took it a step further for the main star. “I’m really impressed with how Kamilla Cardoso carried her team on the offensive end in the first half,” he said proving he’s watching the games closely. “Coach of the Year Dawn Staley said Ashlyn Watkins would be a key player to get the win and she showed up by grabbing 20 rebounds off the bench, the new NCAA tournament record!”

READ MORE: Magic Johnson Takes the Spotlight From Caitlin Clark as Hannah Stuelke Rises With 23-Point Masterclass

To be fair, he also celebrated the Hawkeyes as a whole, praising not just Clark but Hannah Stuelke for sharing the offensive burden. He’s thrilled they’ve gone to the finals for the second straight year in a row. Whether they win or not won’t change that Clark is the no.1 draft pick for the 2024 WNBA draft. But it would be a great end to her spectacular collegiate career that is drawing so many parallels to Magic’s Spartans legacy in the late ’70s.

Magic’s praise is evenly distributed. But it’s still a competition and everyone is allowed to have a favorite. One thing’s for sure, whichever team wins, the NBA legend will be on X showering them with praise.

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