Perhaps no rookie competition has been more covered by the media this year than that between Chicago Sky’s Angel Reese and Indiana Fever’s Caitlin Clark.
Their regular season matchups in the WNBA sometimes got ugly for reasons out of the players’ control, but for the most part, Reese and Clark’s arrival to the league has led to a positive ripple effect causing record numbers of viewers to tune into women’s basketball games week after week.
Reese spoke about her and Clark’s inaugural season in the W in a recent feature article for the Wall Street Journal and had a candid take on their competitive battles throughout the years. Their on-court “rivalry” dates all the way back to their collegiate playing days, when Reese suited up for LSU and Clark was breaking records with Iowa.
“It’s just a full-circle moment of how women are viewed when it comes to trash-talking,” Reese said. “It’s okay in men’s sports. We’re going to normalize that in women’s sports as well. So it’s just super-competitive. I think we’re two great competitors.”
Reese was referring to a notorious moment during the 2023 NCAA championship game when she appeared to taunt Clark by mimicking the Hawkeyes guard’s “You Can’t See Me” gesture. LSU went on to beat Iowa, 102-85.
But, the past is in the past.
“We brought a lot of fans to this league,” Reese said of her and Clark’s rookie campaigns. “And I think we’re going to continue to do that. And one day, hopefully, we’ll be teammates.”
Reese and Clark notably linked up for the first time during the WNBA All-Star Game in July. With both players’ Olympic futures looming in the horizon, that likely won’t be the last time fans see the marquee stars share a court together.
