Angel Reese not only helped take the LSU Lady Tigers to the NCAA 2023 Championship Finale but also got them their first NCAA title. This certainly put the Lady Tigers on the map, who had last made a Final Four appearance in 2008. The game peaked with 16.1 million viewers, which was recorded as the highest for any basketball game since 2018 on ESPN. Next year, when the Maryland-born took the Lady Tigers to the Elite Eight, the clash became the highest average viewership game with 12.3 million viewers. Hence, Reese has certainly contributed to LSU’s fame and her former head coach Kim Mulkey credited her for it, despite her locker room issues with the star.

Mulkey was present at the SEC basketball media days on Wednesday when she shed light on Reese’s contribution to LSU. “We certainly are proud of Angel Reese, she’s one of us. And she brought so much attention to not only LSU and winning the national championship but women’s basketball. Good or bad, whether you like her or you don’t like her, whether you’re an LSU fan or you’re not, you brought eyes to the television. And certainly, Caitlin Clark did that for her team,” Mulkey stated, via LSU Tigers on TigerBait.

Though Mulkey was the reason for Reese transferring from the Maryland Terrapins to the LSU Lady Tigers, their relationship somewhat soured during the final year. Firstly, Mulkey benched Reese in mid-November during a game against Kent State. When Mulkey was asked the reason behind her surprising decision, the ex-Baylor Bears head coach revealed that, “It was just a coach’s decision,” and declined to give any particular reason for that. Next, Reese missed four games due to unspecified “locker room issues” which many speculated could have involved Reese and Mulkey.

Furthermore, in a report by Kent Babb of The Washington Post, Mulkey in two different emails divulged that Reese was not included in an awards list due to her GPA and complained that the former Bayou Barbie would “stay on that social media crap.” Though during the Wooden Award nominations in March 2023, no one knew which criteria Reese didn’t fulfill, everyone was of the belief that she deserved to get a chance at the coveted list. All this felt as if Mulkey’s relationship with Mulkey had taken a hit. And her crediting Reese for making the Lady Tigers popular only solves the problems, if any that existed between them. However, Mulkey also acknowledged Reese’s rival Caitlin Clark’s contribution to the NCAA.

Caitlin Clark makes it to Kim Mulkey’s praise list

The WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert has often compared Reese and Clark’s rivalry to that of Larry Bird and Magic Johnson. Both the stars have been at the center of drawing more crowds to the W after they attracted attention in the NCAA. The WNBA All-Star game this year became the third most watched W game and had a record 3.4 million viewers. Thus, Mulkey not only credited Reese but also lauded Clark for her contribution to the sport.

“And I think through the history of women’s basketball you have different decades that, that happens. You have young players or players that people can relate to and bring new fans. And those young ladies brought new fans to the game, both at the college level and I think at the pro level,” Mulkey expressed. Notably, Clark’s Indiana Fever has been a part of all the 15 most-watched games this W season which speaks volumes of her contribution.

And Mulkey while concluding showed her wisdom by stating, “Someone else will evolve. When that will be, maybe this year, maybe five more years. It happens, it’s just the evolution of sports.” Ardent NCAA fans are right now waiting for the next season to start so that they can see MiLaysia Fulwiley and JuJu Watkins competing for the title. And who knows they might be the next stars in the cycle elaborated by Mulkey.