See, Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese can work together.
The leaders for WNBA Rookie of the Year connected for a basket in the fourth quarter of Team WNBA’s 117-109 win over Team USA, which is heading to compete in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Clark drove into the lane and dished to Reese for a layup.
Much has been made of a rivalry between them, dating to their college days and into this season, but they had no problem working together for Team WNBA.
“I had a good time (playing with Clark),” Reese said on the ABC postgame show.
WNBA Rookie of the Year race
Clark, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft of the Indiana Fever, leads league rookies in scoring (17.1) and leads the league in assists (8.2). Reese has been a double-double machine for the Chicago Sky, notching a league-record 15 in a row in one stretch. She averages 13.5 points and 12 rebounds per game.
Clark had 4 points and a game-high 10 assists. Reese had, of course, a double-double (12 points, 11 rebounds).
Both have helped push their teams into playoff contention. The Fever hit the break seventh in the standings, the Sky eighth.
Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese will ‘wear our get-along shirts’ for WNBA All-Stars vs Team USA
The two have been on opposing sides dating back to Reese at Maryland and Clark at Iowa in 2020. The rivalry continued when Reese transferred to LSU, with increasing stakes: LSU beat Iowa in the 2023 national championship game, and Iowa returned the favor in 2024 in the Elite Eight.
That college rivalry transferred to the WNBA when Clark was drafted No. 1 to Indiana and Reese went No. 7 to Chicago, ensuring the two will meet four times per season as Eastern Conference foes.
That budding rivalry between Indiana and Chicago, just three hours from each other, has been contentious. Indiana won by one point in their first meeting and by eight points in their second, and Chicago one by one point in the third meeting.
They had never been teammates before. Not in high school, AAU or even pickup games. But now, the two frontrunners for Rookie of the Year will share the court for the first time as part of Team WNBA on Saturday night.
“I’m looking forward to it, everybody can wear their get-along shirts for one day at least,” Reese joked. “I know a lot of people are gonna come and watch us… there’s an awful lot of talent within both rosters, so they’re in for a good one.”
Reese and Clark are the only rookie All-Stars, and it’s the first time two rookies have been named All-Stars since 2014.
“As two rookies sharing this experience for the first time, like it’s super rare to be here as a rookie,” Clark said. “To have two this year, I think it’s just really great.”
Clark and Reese have grown the game in their distinct ways — Reese announced she was declaring for the WNBA in an exclusive interview for Vogue, and she and Clark have dominated headlines across the country.
With Clark, the Fever’s attendance at Gainbridge Fieldhouse has grown from an average of around 4,000 in 2023 to selling out nearly every game in the 17,000-seat arena in 2024, averaging over 16,000 fans per game.
Wintrust Arena in Chicago holds just under 10,000 people, and the Sky are averaging 7,800 fans per game this season — almost double the 4,822 they averaged in 2023.
“Obviously the attention that we’re bringing and then that brings everybody else. I think it’s going to continue to help grow the game and obviously it’s a super cool opportunity for us to be here and enjoy this first All-Star experience,” Clark said. “And it’s great for the fans. Obviously the fans are super excited about it. So I think across the board it’s super exciting, but also it’s really hard to do, so just soak it in and enjoy it and celebrate.”
