LeBron James’ pro-Vols tweet doesn’t sit well with Gamecock women’s basketball fans
LeBron James gave his opinion on a hypothetical matchup in women’s basketball, and it didn’t sit well with South Carolina fans and coach Dawn Staley.
SEC Network sent out a tweet Sunday saying “Lady Vols vs. Gamecocks Who would get the W?” The lineups featured all-time greats from both programs.
James, the four-time NBA MVP, made it clear who he thought would win the dream team matchup in a Twitter post early Monday morning.
“Man WHAT??!!! No disrespect to those lady Gamecocks and their hoopers cause they can ball but THAT Lady Vols team would SMASH damn near any team. Now if you put them vs Lady Huskies (Bird, DT, Maya, B. Stewart, Lobo) now we talking. And yes I know they ain’t in the SEC,” James posted.
A number of Gamecock fans replied to the tweet, which was had around 35,000 interactions shortly after noon Monday.
USC coach Dawn Staley even responded.
“k Lebron,” Staley posted.
“As soon as someone says ‘no disrespect’ we all know what’s coming,” USC freshman Brea Beal said.
Among the USC fan responses:
▪ “No disrespect but THEE best player out of all u listed is a Lady Gamecock..”
▪ ”I feel disrespected, tho. ... Cool as hell he knows who we are, tho. So there’s that.”
▪ ”I thought Lebron could do no wrong.”
The Vols team had five of the top players under Pat Summtt — Kellie Harper, Candace Parker, Kara Lawson, Tamika Catchings and Chamique Holdsclaw. Catchings was just elected to the Pro Basketball Hall of Fame over the weekend. Four of the five players played professional basketball. Harper was the point guard on three Tennessee national title teams. Tennessee made 18 Final Four appearances and won eight national titles under Summit.
USC’s team was made up of the top players in Staley’s era — A’ja Wilson, Kaela Davis, Ty Harris, Tiffany Mitchell and Alaina Coates. Wilson was the No. 1 pick in the 2017 WNBA Draft and four of the players are currently in the WNBA. Harris, the Dawn Staley Award recipient as the nationa’s top point guard, is expected to join them when the WNBA Draft is held April 17.
The Gamecocks have made two national championship appearances under Staley, the unanimous Coach of the Year this season. The Gamecocks won the 2017 title and were one of the favorites to win it this year. USC has advanced to the Elite Eight three times since 2015.
USC went 33-1, won the SEC regular season and tournament championships. The Gamecocks finished the year ranked No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 and USA Today coaches poll before the season abruptly ended because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Sunday would have been the day the NCAA Women’s Championship was scheduled to be held in New Orleans. The University of South Carolina lit up the Capstone building in the USC women’s team honor.
This story was originally published April 6, 2020 at 12:44 PM.
