Decoding the Heated Rivalry Between Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese

Conflicts between public figures always attract significant attention and quickly become a big story. One prominent example of this in pop culture was the feud between Kanye West and Taylor Swift. The drama began in 2009 when West famously interrupted Swift's acceptance speech at the Video Music Awards.

West felt Swift didn’t deserve the award, believing it should have been given to Beyoncé. In a dramatic move, he grabbed the microphone from Swift, resulting in one of television's most notorious moments. The altercation escalated into a wider feud involving Swift and West's ex-wife, Kim Kardashian. Even after West and Kardashian's divorce, the animosity between Swift and Kardashian persists.

Likewise, the clash between Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese has captured the curiousity of many who want to know every detail. Both players are highly skilled and have spent years honing their craft. Although Clark and Reese are highly respected in the sports world, their ongoing feud is an aspect of their careers neither can take pride in.

How did the beef between Clark and Reese actually start? We’ve gathered perspectives from social media users and professional athletes about the ongoing drama between. Some believe the feud is more one-sided than it seems. While we’re on the topic of interesting sports news in the basketball realm, click here to uncover the 12 biggest wins in American basketball history.

These days, the connection between Clark and Reese is riddled with negativity and drama. It wasn't always that way, though. Back in the day, Clark and Reese had nothing but kind sentiments to share about each other whenever they had the opportunity. As a reminder, both female basketball players started gaining traction during the 2023 national championship game. At the time, Reese was playing for LSU and Clark was playing for the Hawkeyes.

The intensity of the game paired with the unparalleled talent from both Reese and Clark attracted a massive audience that most women's college basketball games never received before. In fact, more than 12.6 million viewers were tuning in to catch a glimpse of Clark and Reese handling business on the court.

In October of that year, Reese spoke kindly of Clark at a media event for LSU saying "Oh my gosh, I love Caitlin. We've been competing since we were in AAU. It was always fun, always competitive. One day, hopefully, we could even be teammates. She is a great player, shooter, person and teammate. I don't care about anything that's negative. When you know the person and what their genuine intentions are, being able to know that we did something big, that we grew women's basketball. That's all that matters."

When Reese was heavily criticized for trash talking Clark after a major LSU win, Clark sat for an interview with ESPN saying, "I don't think Angel should be criticized at all. No matter which way it goes, she should never be criticized for what she did. I'm just one that competes, and she competed. I think everybody knew there was going to be a little trash talk. It's not just me and Angel. That should never be torn down. That should never be criticized because I believe that's what makes this game so fun. That's what draws people to this game. That's how I'm going to continue to play. That's how every girl should continue to play."

So, what went wrong between these two after they were quoted showcasing so much mutual support for each other?

The exact moment that the feud between Clark and Reese started is unclear, but it's safe to assume that the drama between the athletes stems from one reason in particular. From an outsider's perspective, it appears Clark receives far more attention in the WNBA than Reese does.

Since the subject of race is a hot topic of controversy, many people want to avoid the notion that Clark could be receiving preferential treatment… but others are convinced that's the case. One huge example would be the time Reese was given a flagrant foul against Clark based on a referee call she didn't agree with. During her press conference after the game, she voiced her frustrations and made it abundantly clear that she was enraged over the situation.

Social media users have been weighing in with their opinions regarding the feud between Clark and Reese. Tons of people are team Clark while others are far more supportive of Reese. Regardless of what side fans are on, it's common enough to vocalize their thoughts and opinions on platforms like Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, and Reddit.

In fact, multiple Reddit threads have been launched to talk about the differences in talent levels between Clark and Reese. Fans spend time on these Reddit threads going back-and-forth about who they think will come out on top. Some consider themselves to be fans of both with excitement about seeing them both succeed and thrive while playing basketball.

In one Reddit thread, a fan wrote, "They are both awesome. Best thing to happen for WNBA popularity. Hate the weird narratives forming." This comment couldn't be more true. Even though narratives about a feud between Clark and Reese are constantly circulating, headlines that surface about these two athletes have certainly helped to bring more acknowledgment and recognition to the WNBA.

Tons of public figures have a lot to say about everything going on between Clark and Reese as well. That includes Jason Whitlock, who's known for starring on a show called "Fearless" on Blaze TV. From his perspective, Reese is the type of athlete who constantly plays victim and loves playing the role of a villain to snag more media attention.

In short, he is not one of Reese's biggest fans. He's criticized her for cracking under the pressure and he even poked at her mental health in past interviews. Shaquille O'Neal, on the other hand, has a lot of wonderful and positive things to say about Reese and her basketball abilities.

As a reminder, O'Neill played professional basketball for years, most notably with the Lakers and the Heat. He's been quoted calling Reese the "greatest athlete" to graduate from LSU. Such kind words coming from someone like O'Neill mean a lot since he had such an impressive career in his hay day.

Dawn Staley is recognized for being an Olympic gold medal-winning basketball player and Basketball coach. She had complimentary things to say about Clark earlier in 2024. She called Clark one of the "goats" of basketball. As a reminder, the term goat means "greatest of all time." Famous folks will undoubtedly continually share their thoughts on the ongoing feud between Reese and Clark as long as both players are hitting the court.

Interestingly enough, some diehard basketball fans are convinced that the feud between Reese and Clark is completely one-sided. They believe that Reese is the only one perpetuating the drama while Clark doesn't really say too many negative things to the press. In interviews, Reese consistently speaks up about wanting to receive more attention than Clark when it comes to her presence in the WNBA.

On the contrary, Clark doesn't share too many thoughts on the subject. Most of the time, Clark sits down to discuss her basketball career and goals for the future. Based on the number of times Reese has been quoted bringing up comparisons against Clark, fans have reason to believe that this feud is more one-sided than anything else.

As long as Reese and Clark are both playing basketball in the WNBA, this feud will likely live on. One thing that will potentially keep both players positively distracted might be all the sponsorships, brand deals, and endorsements they constantly snag from companies who are impressed by their skill sets.

Just to name drop a few, Reese has signed contracts with the likes of PlayStation, Starry, Sports Illustrated Swimsuit, Amazon, Panini America, and Airbnb. Clark has signed contracts with the likes of State Farm, Gatorade, and Nike. Needless to say, they're both doing quite well. Now that we've gone integrate detail about the feud between Clark and Reese, click here to find out more about the greatest athletes who ever played basketball.