Snoop Dogg joined Diana Taurasi, Sue Bird, and Robin Roberts on The Bird & Taurasi Show during the National Championship Game broadcast yesterday. Joining the show during the 1st quarter of the contest between the Iowa Hawkeyes and the South Carolina Gamecocks, the rapper spoke about Caitlin Clark and revealed an interesting fact involving Kobe Bryant.
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Mid-way into the first quarter, Diana Taurasi revealed that Caitlin Clark had been giving a Kobe Bryant vibes all season long. “Caitlin is giving me these Kobe vibes,” the WNBA legend said.
Responding to the three-time WNBA champ, the hip-hop legend revealed that Kobe Bryant actually saw potential in Clark at a young age. Snoop Dogg further lauded the 6ft youngster for living up to Bryant’s expectations and growing up to be the sensation that she is today. The 17-time Grammy-nominated artist honestly admitted that he wasn’t aware of Iowa basketball before Clark blew up.
Shedding light on her influence, Snoop also told the panel, “It’s no accident that Kobe crowned her at an early age. Bringing it all to life, she’s showing us what he’s seen years ago. And she’s such a talent… I’m a fan of her. I didn’t knew nothing about Iowa basketball, but I love watching her.”
Kobe was a huge advocate for women’s basketball. Apart from being the coach of his daughter, Gigi Bryant’s basketball team, the Black Mamba was often spotted in the front rows of WNBA and women’s college basketball games. Even though Clark was not playing college basketball during the time Kobe was alive, it seems plausible that he identified the sharpshooter’s potential even before she was 18.
Much like other athletes from the sporting world, Clark admired the Los Angeles Lakers legend. Apart from sharing the same traits -solid work ethic and an intense drive to win – as Bryant, the Iowa superstar has also donned different signature Kobe shoes from Nike throughout her collegiate career.
Caitlin Clark breaks the all-time NCAA scoring record in the Nike Kobe 5 Protro. pic.twitter.com/c8lXwj0u7V
— Nick DePaula (@NickDePaula) February 16, 2024
Caitlin Clark wearing the “Mambacita” Kobe 6s on her potential record-breaking day
(via @NickDePaula) pic.twitter.com/fbugRGSL8h
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) February 11, 2024
Clark was unable to cap off her sensational career with a win. Despite her valiant 30-point, 8-rebound, and 5-assist heroics, Iowa fell to South Carolina 75-87, losing their second national championship Final game in two years.
While the loss will be a tough pill for Caitlin Clark to swallow, this will only ignite a fire within her to win as many accolades as she can at the professional level.
