Caitlin Clark says she doesn’t understand why people think she has a rivalry with the Chicago Sky’s Angel Reese as the 22-year-old points out that they’ve never had to defend each other, despite infamous moments on the court. The Indiana Fever ace pipped the former-LSU Tigers star to WNBA Rookie of the Year, which is part of why she was named Time’s Athlete of the Year, but away from the award it was also viewed as a symbolic moment in their rivalry.
However, Clark doesn’t believe it actually exists despite it apparently continuing into the professional league based on Reese’s reactions during clashes between the Fever and Sky through 2024. “I don’t get that at all,” Clark said of the supposed rivalry to Time. “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?”
Clark reviews infamous national championships moment
One of the highlights of this rivalry came when they were both competing in the NCAA when Clark was with the Iowa Hawkeyes, as the pair managed to make it to the national championship game.
Caitlin Clark is TIME’s Athlete of the Year https://t.co/WtgLuIIYhb pic.twitter.com/oGDewhUPcB
— TIME (@TIME) December 10, 2024
The Tigers went on to win 102-85 and when the game was done and it was deep into “garbage time”, Reese decided to take the chance to gloat about her inevitable ring by pointing to her middle finger in the face of Clark.
But even now the 22-year-old doesn’t think it was a big deal and accused the media and fans of focusing on the wrong thing as they turned their attention to the supposed rivalry instead of the Tigers’ triumph. “I didn’t think it was taunting,” Clark said of the gesture by the Tigers’ Reese. “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?’Â Â “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.”
