LeBron James jumped to the defense of Caitlin Clark after Lynette Woodard claimed the Iowa star had not broken her scoring record, which was set in the AIAW era before the NCAA recognized women's college basketball.
Later, though, Woodard walked back her comments in an apology.
Back in February, Clark starred with 33 points for Iowa at Minnesota and her performance saw her surpass the 3,649 points Woodard scored in college. Following the defeat in her final collegiate outing against South Carolina in the 2024 national championship, the Hawkeyes guard ended her college career having tallied 3,951 points.
However, Woodard questioned the legitimacy of Clark’s claim to the all-time NCAA scoring record.
She played for Kansas between 1977 and 1981, when the governing body was the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics.
Woodard suggested her points record stood as Clark benefits from the 3-point line, which was implemented later, as well as playing with a smaller basketball compared to the traditional men's ball she had to use.
Appearing at the Women of Color (WOC) Coaches Network presentation, Woodard said: “I’ll just go ahead and get the elephant out of the room.
I don't think my record has been broken, because you can't duplicate what you're not duplicating.
So unless you come with a men's basketball and a two-point shot...”
Woodard was ultimately drowned out by applause from the audience at the Hilton Cleveland Downtown hotel, but it appears Los Angeles Lakers superstar James did not agree with the comments.