Angel Reese wants you to know Caitlin Clark isn’t the only reason why women’s basketball is taking off right now.
The 22-year-old WNBA player discussed the increased attention to women’s basketball and her rivalry with Clark, 22. However, Reese also says she wants to be remembered as a significant contributor to the sport’s rise in popularity.
“It all started from the national championship game and I've been dealing with this for two years now,” said Reese to Chicago station WGN9. “Yeah, negative things have probably been said about me. But, honestly, I'll take that because look where women's basketball is.”
The Chicago Sky star noted that she is proud of the increased attention to women’s basketball.
“People are talking about women's basketball, but you never would think that we'd be talking about women's basketball,” she continued. “People are pulling up to games, we got celebrities coming to games, sold-out arenas. Just because of one single game and just looking at that, like, I'll take that role. I'll take the ‘bad guy’ role and I'll continue to take that on and be that for my teammates.”
She added, “And if I wanna be that and I know I'll go down in history. I'll look back in years and be like, ‘Yeah, the reason why we watching women's basketball is not just because of one person, it's because of me too.’ And I want y'all to realize that.”
As noted by Sporting News, the two players became the standout faces of women’s college basketball, particularly during the 2024 NCAA Tournament.
Their rivalry gained national attention during the 2023 championship game, where Reese’s LSU claimed their first national title against Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes.
The game, which drew a then-record-breaking 12.6 million viewers, also saw Reese make a “You can’t see me” hand wave gesture towards Clark.
"I don't think Angel should be criticized at all," Clark told ESPN days later, per Sporting News. "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.”
Despite the media’s portrayal of their alleged feud, the two women continue to be supportive of each other.
"I don't think people realize it's not personal," Reese told ESPN in March. "Once we get out between those lines, if I see you walking down the street, it's like, 'Hey, girl, what's up? Let's hang out.' I think people just take it like we hate each other.”
She added, “Me and Caitlin Clark don't hate each other. I want everybody to understand that. It's just a super-competitive game. Once I get between those lines, there's no friends. I'm going to talk trash to you. I'm going to do whatever it takes to get in your head the whole entire game, but after the game, we can kick it. I don't think people really realize that.”
