After just one season, Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese have already become the two biggest names in the WNBA.
The Indiana Fever and Chicago Sky stars brought unprecedented levels of popularity to women’s basketball in 2024, selling out arenas, breaking jersey sale numbers, and smashing TV viewing figures.
Their Larry Bird-Magic Johnson esque rivalry has been the best thing to happen to the W in years. Maybe ever.
But Clark and Reese‘s impact on women’s sports long proceeds their time in the pros.
An intense NCAA women’s national championship match-up between Iowa and LSU in 2023 saw Clark’s name first enter the zeitgeist.
It also put former Tigers standout Reese on the national map after she taunted Clark by gesturing to her ring finger to symbolize the championship ring she was about to receive for the 102-85 win.
Reese’s “you can’t see me” motion was a seminal moment, not just in her personal rivalry with Clark, but women’s basketball as a whole.
The 6ft 3in forward admits it’s still the most important game of her career.
“That changed my life,” she admitted to the Wall Street Journal.
“Seeing 9.9 million people watch that game, from my hand gesture, to winning, changed women’s basketball forever.
“My life literally just completely changed from that game.”
Reese went No. 7 overall in the 2024 WNBA Draft while Clark went No. 1.
Clark and Reese played head-to-head four times during their rookie WNBA seasons, with the Fever winning three of them.
When Rookie of the Year Clark played Reese, she averaged 21 points, seven rebounds, and ten assists, while Reese averaged 14 points, 13 rebounds, and two assists in their head-to-head battles.
Those iconic battles date all the way back to their AAU days.
However, despite lining up on opposite ends of the court for most of their careers, Reese admits she one day hopes to team up with Clark in what would be a league — and potentially sport-defining –decision.
“Me and Caitlin have been playing against each other since we were kids,” Reese said.
“It’s just super competitive, we’re two great competitors, we’ve brought a lot of fans to this league, and I think we’re going to continue to do that.
“And one day hopefully we can be teammates.”
Fans online caught wins of Reese’s revelatory comments and shared their thoughts.
“She keep telling us she wants to be her teammate….@IndianaFever time to make that boss call,” one fan said.
“She’s a smart business women. She sees the motion,” added another.
Reese and Clark teaming up would be a seismic decision the likes of which basketball has rarely seen.
The only comparison would be Kevin Durant joining the 73-9 Golden State Warriors in 2016 or LeBron James forming a ‘Big Three’ in Miami with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in 2010.
For now, though, a fantasy trade pairing Reese and Clark up remains exactly that, a fantasy.
Both the Fever and Sky have new head coaches heading into 2025 and will look to build around Clark and Reese to improve on last season’s standings.
Chicago missed the playoffs last season, finishing in 10th place with a 13–27 record, while the Fever were eliminated from the postseason by the Connecticut Sun in Game 2 of their first-round series.
Clark and Reese forming a WNBA super-team would have major ramifications, both on and off the court.
However, it wouldn’t be the first time they’ve suited up together.
They momentarily put their rivalry aside to join forces on Team WNBA in the league’s All-Star Game against the United States women’s national team in July.
Clark and Reese joining forces for the annual exhibition was only the eighth time that two WNBA rookies had ever been on the All-Star team.
They also did what the likes of France, Australia and Nigeria couldn’t do in the Olympics, beating the current iteration of Team USA, including Diana Taurasi, A’ja Wilson and Breanna Stewart, 117-109.
“It’s so cool, I know when she gets the ball I’m running looking for the ball because I know she’s gonna throw it,” Reese said of playing with Clark.
“So, she’s been great to play with. I mean, the future — we’re going to be playing with each other a lot. Hopefully, in four years we’ll be Olympians together.”
Reese’s Olympics comments came after her and Clark failed to make Team USA’s Olympic gold medal-winning roster. Head coach Cheryl Reeve reportedly wanted a more senior roster to take to Paris, a decision that ultimately paid off as Team USA went the distance.
They may have missed out on the 2024 team, but Clark and Reese will be shoo-ins for LA28, barring injuries or a catastrophic drop off in form.
Clark and Reese will be 26 and 28 respectively in 2028 when the Los Angeles Summer Games roll around, and could easily have multiple WNBA championships and MVPs under their belts by then — potentially on the same team — while just about hitting their primes.
That’s still four years away though. Right now, both players have their sights firmly fixed on the WNBA, and, potentially at least for Reese, a new rival 3-on-3 basketball league, Unrivaled.
Reese has already committed to the league, which offers participants equity and features 36 WNBA players on six different teams.
The league tips off in January in Miami and runs for eight weeks, including the playoffs.
32 of the 36 rosters spots have already been filled by a plethora of WNBA superstars, and everyone is waiting for Clark to declare whether she intends to play in it or not.
If she does, we might see her and Reese on the same team sooner than expected.
