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Caitlin Clark talks on stage as she joins NBC’s Sunday Night Basketball prior to the game between the Los Angeles Lakers and New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden on February 01, 2026 in New York City.
Indiana Fever superstar Caitlin Clark would rather retire than give up chocolate chip cookies. The 24-year-old made that clear while reacting to comments from her idol, LeBron James, who recently revealed that he gave up his beloved dessert during his rehab at the start of the season, when he missed 14 games with sciatica.
“I’d rather retire than do this. This is why he’s him,” Clark wrote on IG.
James revealed on the latest “Mind the Game” podcast that he gave up drinking wine and eating chocolate chip cookies for nearly two months during his rehab process.
“I needed to give up something,” James said of his mindset during his 14-game absence at the start of the 2025-26 NBA season.
“I had to sacrifice something. There are two things I love — drinking wine and eating chocolate chip cookies for dessert. I completely took it out.”
LeBron James Sacrifices His Vices
The sacrifices weren’t easy on the Lakers star, who admittedly craved his chocolate chip cookies and ice cream on several nights during his period of abstinence. He similarly craved a glass of wine when he was sidelined, marking the first time in his 23-year NBA career that the 41-year-old had sat out the early portion of an NBA season.
“[Giving up] the chocolate chip cookies were probably the hardest for me,” James admitted. “But the wine, too, because when I wasn’t playing and was a little stressed, maybe I wanted a glass here or glass there.”
To James’ credit, he maintained his teetotaling, sugar-free lifestyle even after rehab, just to practice discipline and challenge himself.
“Once I got to December, I was like, ‘Oh.’ I kept going,” James revealed. “I didn’t have my first drink and my first piece of dessert until New Year’s night.”
“So I ended up going basically two months.”
Caitlin Clark Idolizes LeBron James
Clark’s flattering comments on James don’t come as a surprise.
The Iowa alum has spoken extensively about why James is her biggest inspiration, not just for his on-court exploits but also for his contributions to the game off the court.
“That’s one of my idols. LeBron is the GOAT to me,” she said last year. “He’s my favorite player of all time.”
Clark has also been appreciative of James for regularly showing up to WNBA games and supporting women’s basketabll.
“He knows what he’s talking about,” Clark said of James during her senior year in college, via USA Today’s Lindsay Schnell.
“He pays attention, he supports the game. He doesn’t just talk about it, he really shows up and supports (us). I think that’s the coolest thing, (to have) one of the greatest of all time really helping support and grow women’s basketball. He’s exactly what we need.”
Sai Mohan covers the NBA for Heavy.com. Based in Portugal, Sai is a seasoned sports writer with nearly two decades of publishing experience, including bylines at Yardbarker, FanSided’s Hoops Habit, International Business Times, Hindustan Times and more. More about Sai Mohan
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