The bitter rivalry between Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark appears to only be intensifying as both rookies continue their transition to the WNBA level. All the animosity seems to come from Reese’s end. She can say whatever she wants publicly, but there’s no way Reese is anything but a hater.
Case in point: Look at her reaction to an incident from Saturday’s matchup between the Chicago Sky and Indiana Fever, as a Sky player decks Clark on a routine inbound play and gets whistled for a foul.
Look how hyped Angel Reese is on the bench after Caitlin Clark takes a cheap shot 😭 pic.twitter.com/GyeG1Q6OhZ
— Emo Jimmy (@WheelerJaylen) June 1, 2024
At what point does this become too mean-spirited. I’m all for talking trash, competitive ferocity, and physicality in the sport of basketball. This bush league cheap shot, though? Not a great look. Even worse is how Reese is encouraging her teammate along to do something so low.
You can tell clear as day from the alternate angle it was a premeditated act.
Entire league out to get Caitlin Clark 😂 pic.twitter.com/aZHN9FUhgN
— WNBA Rookie Watch (@WNBARookieWatch) June 1, 2024
For the uninitiated, Reese has a history of stunting on Clark whenever she gets the chance. Whether it’s getting in her face during a national championship game, being soft and deleting a tweet that mocked her, or leaving a crown on the bench to let Clark know she was the queen, only to then lose, there’s a laundry list of BS.
ANGEL REESE HIT CAITLIN CLARK WITH THE "YOU CAN'T SEE ME" 👀 pic.twitter.com/Zj3mqIzkk9
— ESPN (@espn) April 2, 2023
Angel Reese deleted her tweet attacking Caitlin Clark.
Clark made the WNBA relevant for the first time ever, and all anyone does is try to tear her down. pic.twitter.com/xGxC7vQ8ny
— David Hookstead (@dhookstead) May 24, 2024
As she arrived for warmups, Angel Reese just placed this crown on the LSU bench while Caitlin Clark warms up in Albany pic.twitter.com/EZphO8WGhi
— Sara Germano (@germanotes) April 1, 2024
That is by no means a comprehensive list of all the times Reese has tried to antagonize the new face of the WNBA that she so desperately wants to be, but you get the picture. People are asking if Reese, the seventh overall pick in this year’s draft, has purchased fake followers on Instagram just so that her gaggle of social media supporters (3.3 million) dwarfs Clark’s respectable following of 2.4 million.
Reese’s LSU squad beating Clark’s Iowa team for the national title in 2023 wouldn’t have had a fraction of the exposure it did if Clark wasn’t playing. The same goes for their latest duel in the pros today. Caitlin Clark is going to drive any massive ratings boost, not Angel Reese. Her petty conduct suggests she’s having a hard time accepting that reality. Feels like it’s only a matter of time before Clark becomes a little more efficient, adapts to the physicality/borderline headhunting coming her way, cuts down on the turnovers, and takes over the WNBA as one of the league’s truly elite players.
Pardon me Angel, do you like apples? Because you lost this afternoon to a previously 1-8 Fever team. How do you like them apples?
homecourt dub.#FeverWin pic.twitter.com/OMgfarBr7L
— Indiana Fever (@IndianaFever) June 1, 2024
Feels suitable to close this one out with a callback to Charles Barkley’s words of wisdom.
"You women out there, y'all petty, man… Y'all should be thanking Caitlin Clark for getting y'all private charters. All the money and visibility she's bringing to the WNBA." -Charles Barkley
Oh boy pic.twitter.com/hKL0JU6Tko
— Ahmed/The Ears/IG: BigBizTheGod 🇸🇴 (@big_business_) May 23, 2024
