Caitlin Clark strikes emotional Kobe Bryant pose following Iowa Big Ten title

Iowa superstar Caitlin Clark continued adding to her extraordinary legacy on Sunday, helping the Hawkeyes defeat Nebraska in a 94-89 overtime win in Minneapolis to secure the program’s third straight Big Ten Women’s Tournament championship.

The Hawkeyes found themselves down by as many as 13 points in the Target Center following a slow start to the game. But Clark channeled a Mamba Mentality in the second half, scoring 30 of her 34 points after halftime to help Iowa secure the win.

Clark also paid homage to the late Kobe Bryant following the win, posing with the Big Ten Tournament trophy in the shower reminiscent of Bryant’s iconic photo with the Larry O’Brien trophy following the Los Angeles Lakers’ 2001 NBA Championship win. Which can be seen below.

Iconic. @CaitlinClark22 x #Hawkeyes pic.twitter.com/7fjKqh9wbO

— Iowa Women's Basketball (@IowaWBB) March 10, 2024

Bryant posing with the NBA title following the Lakers’ 2001 NBA Finals win over the Philadelphia 76ers is one of the most iconic photos of his storied career and in this history of basketball at large. As Bryant sat in the shower emotional about his father and his second of what would be five NBA title wins for the basketball legend.

Clark was also sporting Black Mamba’s sneakers in Sunday’s game, wearing the Nike Kobe 5 Pronto ‘Bruce Lee’ edition shoes that she has famously worn throughout her storied career.

Bryant’s shocking death on January 26, 2020, along with his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven others sent shockwaves across the sports landscape and beyond following a tragic helicopter accident. With the group en route to a basketball game at Mamba Sports Academy, launched by Bryant in 2018 as a joint athletic-training business venture that also housed his daughter’s AAU team which he coached and trained five days a week.

His activism for the women’s game increased following his retirement and was unfortunately cut short due to his passing. But there’s no doubt that Caitlin Clark has surely done her part in advancing the game of women’s basketball in her career.

Last Sunday Clark passed LSU‘s ‘Pistol’ Pete Maravich to become the all-time leading scorer across men’s and women’s Division I college basketball, signifying arguably the most impressive of her many accomplishments throughout her career.

Clark has placed an unprecedented spotlight on the game of women’s basketball, with the Hawkeyes regularly selling out both home and away games along with setting viewership records on television broadcasts. As she’ll look to finish off her collegiate career strong ahead of her final NCAA Tournament appearance following a third-straight Big Ten Women’s Tournament Most Outstanding Player award for one of the most decorated collegiate athletes of all time.