LeBron James Faces Backlash for Praising Caitlin Clark But Not Angel Reese After Career Performance
Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James, widely recognized not only as the NBA’s all-time leading scorer but also as a global icon, maintains a highly active presence on social media platforms where he regularly comments on basketball culture, politics, social issues, and rising stars in the world of sports, particularly women’s basketball.
With a staggering 159 million followers on Instagram and an additional 52.8 million on X (formerly known as Twitter), LeBron James has built one of the largest personal online audiences among athletes in history, giving him the power to shape narratives, spotlight talent, and drive massive engagement with just a few words.
In recent months, James has made it a recurring habit to use his digital platform to support Indiana Fever rookie guard Caitlin Clark, who has become one of the most talked-about players in the WNBA since transitioning from a record-breaking college career at the University of Iowa to the professional stage.
After Caitlin Clark returned from an injury on June 14, leading her team to a stunning win over the previously undefeated New York Liberty, James posted an enthusiastic message on X that quickly went viral, writing: “CC EFFECT!! WELCOME BACK! We missed you!” — a short but impactful show of admiration for the rising star.
This public display of support for Clark did not go unnoticed, and while it was celebrated by many of her fans, it also planted the seeds of controversy as people began to compare James’s interactions — or lack thereof — with other WNBA rookies, particularly Angel Reese of the Chicago Sky.
Just one day after James’s viral post about Clark, Angel Reese had a breakout performance of her own, recording the first triple-double of her WNBA career — a rare and difficult feat — yet received no public mention or praise from James, sparking a firestorm of criticism from fans across social media platforms.
Fast forward to this past Tuesday, when Angel Reese was officially named the Eastern Conference Player of the Week following a dominant series of games, including a standout performance in Los Angeles where she put up 24 points, 16 rebounds, and seven assists in front of a hometown crowd at Crypto.com Arena.
Despite the magnitude of her accomplishment, LeBron James remained silent online, choosing not to acknowledge Reese’s performance on any of his platforms, which many fans interpreted as a deliberate omission — especially given his prior vocal support for Clark under very similar circumstances.
Within hours, posts criticizing James’s silence went viral, including one that garnered over 7.6 million views on X alone, with thousands of users questioning why the self-proclaimed supporter of women’s basketball failed to congratulate one of the league’s most talked-about and polarizing rookies.
Several fans accused James of selective support, pointing out what they perceived as favoritism toward Caitlin Clark, with one fan writing, “It’s clear he doesn’t see the same clout and impact in showing love to anyone other than CC… and we all know that’s really what he’s after in the end.”
Another fan expressed disappointment, writing, “I love Bron, but he’s being kind of shady when it comes to Angel Reese lol,” echoing a sentiment that appeared again and again in hundreds of replies, reposts, and quote tweets surrounding the controversy.
“Let’s be honest, he’s not going to post about her,” one person wrote. “He’s my favorite OAT (One All-Time), but I’m disappointed that he can’t show support for her like he does for others,” capturing the emotional tone many longtime LeBron fans now feel.
One of the more biting critiques came from a user who commented, “He just likes players who don’t perform well in the league,” suggesting that James only gives attention to athletes who face adversity — and that his silence around Reese, who’s been performing at a high level, might be intentional.
Images of Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese standing on the court as fierce competitors — with Clark wearing her Indiana Fever jersey and Reese repping the Chicago Sky — are now being used across platforms to fuel comparisons and ignite debates about fairness, bias, and public recognition.
While this isn’t the first time LeBron James has faced criticism for selectively highlighting certain WNBA players over others, this most recent episode has reignited tensions between fanbases and brought even more scrutiny to how male superstars engage with women’s sports narratives.
Some fans tried to defend James, saying he has every right to post about whoever he wants and that showing love to Clark doesn’t automatically imply disrespect toward Reese, but the volume of negative responses seemed to far outweigh the number of people coming to his defense.
“He really never tweets about Reese. He’s posted about CC multiple times,” one fan pointed out, emphasizing the visible pattern of attention that many claim is evidence of a preference — or worse, a disregard — for specific players despite their on-court success.
Others argued that acknowledgment should go both ways and not be limited to just one star, with one person tweeting, “You gotta give her her flowers when she drops a stat line like this. Give both of them their credit. It’s not hard.”
What added another layer of irony was the fact that Angel Reese’s standout game happened in Los Angeles — James’s home city — and took place at the arena where James himself plays, which prompted fans to tag him directly and say, “She’s literally in your city, at your job @KingJames.”
Whether or not LeBron James eventually decides to speak publicly about Angel Reese’s performance remains to be seen, but the pressure from WNBA fans is clearly mounting, and any future comments — or lack thereof — will almost certainly continue to be examined in the public eye.
As the rivalry between Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese continues to captivate the basketball world, every small gesture, tweet, or omission by high-profile figures like James is magnified, contributing to an already heated cultural conversation about fairness, media coverage, and equal recognition.
Regardless of his intent, James now finds himself in the center of a conversation that goes beyond basketball, touching on deeper questions about gender, race, popularity, and who gets to be celebrated — and who is ignored — in the evolving landscape of modern sports.