The collegiate rivalry was understandable. In the past two years, Angel Reese, playing for LSU, and Iowa’s Caitlin Clark met twice deep in the NCAA tournament, including once for a national championship, so it makes sense that there was some bad blood built up. But the way that the rivalry has carried over to the WNBA has been a but strange.
Clark, for her part, has dealt with the slings and arrows of her own popularity since becoming the No. 1 overall pick in the WNBA draft following her stellar career with the Hawkeyes. She has had some rough games, she has had her interactions on and off the court dissected and discussed, she has gotten ample warnings about being a rookie in the league.
But she has also taken considerable heat from Reese, who has come across as either peeved or plain jealous of the attention Clark gets.
Whatever the case may be, Reese said ahead of the WNBA All-Star game that she will bury her Clark hatchet, at least for this weekend.
“That’s what everybody wants to see,” Reese told ESPN on Friday. “I’m looking forward to it. Everybody can wear their ‘Get Along’ shirts together for one day, at least. So, I know a lot of people are going to come and watch us, to see all of us, but there’s a lot of talent within both rosters of the teams, so they’re in for a good one.”
WNBA Rookie of the Year Race Is Heating Up
In what was a much-anticipated WNBA draft, in large part because of the arrival of Clark, she and Reese have been the standout rookies. Clark remains the heavy favorite to win the league’s Rookie of the Year award, with minus-2000 odds at Bet MGM, followed by Reese at plus-750.
Clark is posting 17.1 points per game (13th in the league) and a league-best 8.2 assists. She is shooting just 40.5% from the field and commits 5.6 turnovers per game, most in the league.
Reese, meanwhile is averaging 13.5 points and 11.9 rebounds, which ranks No. 2 in the league. She is also having a poor shooting year, making just 40.2% from the field.
Neither player’s team has done all that well in the standings to date. Reese and the Chicago Sky are 10-15, while Clark’s Indiana Fever are 11-14.
At 11.4 points, Rickea Jackson of the Sparks is the only other rookie averaging double-digit scoring.
“I don’t think anybody else is going to enter the Rookie of the Year conversation,” ESPN commentator Ryan Ruocco said in a media call this week. “But that doesn’t have to do with — that’s not a slight to the production of anybody else, like Rickea (Jackson) or Aaliyah (Edwards) or Kamilla (Cardoso). That’s just how good Caitlin and Angel have been, with the history they’ve continue to set.”
Angel Reese Plays ‘Bad Guy Role’ vs. Caitlin Clark
The history has been one of some bitterness, at least on Reese’s part. Clark has been given ample credit for breathing new life into women’s basketball because of her accomplishments at Iowa and now, in the WNBA, and Reese has admitted that fact chafes at her.
She says she has willingly embraced the “bad-guy role.”
“It all started with the national championship game, and I’ve been dealing with this for two years now,” Reese said in June. “And understanding like, yeah negative things have probably been said about me, but honestly, I’ll take that, because look at where women’s basketball is. … Just because of one single game. Just looking at that, I’ll take that role. I’ll take the bad guy role.”
But she wants her credit, too.
“The reason why we’re watching women’s basketball is not just because of one person,” Reese said. “It’s because of me, too. I want y’all to realize that.”
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WNBA All-Star: Angel Reese Vows to ‘Get Along’ With Nemesis Caitlin Clark