The Indiana Fever and Chicago Sky rookies have been linked since the 2023 NCAA championship.
Since the 2023 NCAA championship game between Caitlin Clark’s Iowa University and Angel Reese’s LSU, there’s been a prevailing idea that the two WNBA stars have disdain for one another — and are rivals.
In the final moments of LSU’s win, Reese repeatedly pointed her ring finger at Clark to signify that LSU was the victor, a gesture that has been revisited, replayed, and rehashed countless times throughout the past two years. Reese, in turn, was deemed “classless.” Clark, from the beginning, downplayed the whole interaction.
ANGEL REESE TO CAITLIN CLARK pic.twitter.com/2NY0CEzwJ3
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) April 2, 2023
After the two rookies were drafted, the world tuned in to watch them battle as professionals, Clark on the Indiana Fever, and Reese on the Chicago Sky.
The Fever finished the season with a 20-20 record and Clark averaged 19.2 points and 8.4 assists on her way to a near-unanimous Rookie of the Year campaign, setting a slew of scoring and assist records.
The Sky finished with a 13-27 record — narrowly missing the playoffs — and Reese averaged 13.6 points and 13.1 rebounds while setting a number of rebounding records.
Matchups between the two teams set viewership records; their first game against one another in June peaked at 3 million viewers.
In a Time interview with Sean Gregory, Caitlin Clark reflected on the notion that she and Chicago Sky rookie Angel Reese are rivals, pointing to the fact the two don’t even play the same position (Clark is a point guard, Reese is a forward).
“I don’t get that at all,” Clark said. “We’re not best friends, by any means, but we’re very respectful of one another. Yes, we have had tremendous battles. But when have I ever guarded her? And when has she guarded me?”
She also made clear she didn’t understand all the buzz around Reese’s celebration in the championship game.
“I didn’t think it was taunting,” Clark said. “It really didn’t bother me. It’s just like, ‘Why don’t you talk about them winning? Or the incredible run that we went on that nobody would have thought we would have ever gone on?’ The only thing people cared about was this controversy that was really fabricated and made up, and then that has continued to be the case ever since.”
The Fever will play the Sky five times next year — more than any other team. And, despite both players routinely downplaying the significance of those match-ups, there’s no doubt WNBA fans will tune in.
