Indiana Fever point guard Caitlin Clark is the WNBA’s biggest star, but her detractors are second in number only to her fans.
Much of the polarization around Clark has arisen out of her rivalry with Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese, which stretches back four seasons to the last two years the women spent in collegiate basketball at Iowa and LSU, respectively.
Reese’s Tigers squad bested Clark’s Hawkeyes in the NCAA championship game in 2023. Clark and Iowa defeated Reese and LSU in the tournament the following year on their way to a second consecutive second-place finish.
Clark became the No. 1 overall pick in 2024, while Reese went seventh overall. They battled for Rookie of the Year honors, which Clark eventually captured along with a spot on the First-Team All-WNBA squad.
Each woman has had her own particular struggles early in their sophomore seasons at the pro level. Clark has missed as many games as she’s played through 18 contests, battling injuries to both her quad and her groin, while also dealing with a shooting slump over her last few outings prior to her current groin issue.
Reese has struggled to perform offensively, scoring 12.6 points per game and shooting just 41% from the field, mostly from close-range. She has, however, remained a dominant force on the glass and solid defensively on the interior.
Despite their difficulties, both women will be All-Star participants for the second consecutive season. As the top recipient in fan voting, Clark will be a team captain alongside Napheesa Collier of the Minnesota Lynx.
Her position will afford Clark a unique opportunity to smooth over some of the polarization, and frankly misplaced hate and anger, surrounding her and Reese by making an unexpected move — selecting Reese to her team early in the draft process.
Caitlin Clark Can Douse Hate Around Angel Reese Rivalry by Extending All-Star Game Olive Branch
Getty Angel Reese (left) of the Chicago Sky defends Caitlin Clark (right) of the Indiana Fever during a WNBA game.
Nancy Armour of USA Today advised Clark make the move in a piece that ran on Tuesday, July 8.
Caitlin Clark has the chance to quiet the toxic behavior of the worst of her fans.
There’s an ugly undertone to Clark and Reese’s rivalry that’s an issue for everyone in the WNBA. There is a segment of Clark’s fans — not all of her fans, not the majority of her fans, but too many — who have styled Clark as some kind of white, heteronormative savior and are using her as a vehicle for racism and homophobia.
Clark has disavowed this segment of her fan base, directly and indirectly. Her harshest condemnation came in Time’s athlete of the year profile last year.
“Just stop,” she told the magazine. “Because that’s not who I am.”
Armour suggested that Clark can do more to throw water on the flames of hate that seem to rise on social media every time Reese comes up, and often in person as well, by selecting her rival to play as her teammate in the All-Star Game for the second year in a row.
Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese Have Been WNBA All-Star Teammates Before
GettyCaitlin Clark (left) and Angel Reese (right) during a WNBA game between the Indiana Fever and Chicago Sky.
Clark and Reese played together in last season’s All-Star outing as members of Team WNBA, which took on the members of Team USA who went on to win gold in the Summer Olympics in Paris later that year.
And though the Olympic squad defeated the world without Clark and Reese at its disposal, it was unable to defeat Team WNBA in the exhibition contest at the league’s midseason break, falling by eight points.
“It could silence some of the howling chorus of awfulness,” Armour continued. “The folks saying Reese sucks or flooding her social accounts with vitriol might pipe down if they see she has Clark’s endorsement. The folks who think they’re supporting Clark with their nastiness might think twice when Clark herself gives a public seal of approval.”
Clark and Collier will select their squads on Tuesday night, July 8, via a live broadcast on ESPN that begins at 7 p.m. ET. The WNBA will hold the All-Star Game on July 19.
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