Angel Reese admits she wants to be teammates with Caitlin Clark in resurfaced clip as the two WNBA rivals prepare to team up at All-Star game
Before she made headlines last month for a brutal foul on Caitlin Clark — but long after she infamously dissed her rival on the court at the 2023 NCAA Championship — Angel Reese actually wanted to be a teammate of the Iowa Hawkeyes legend.
“Oh my god, I love Caitlin,” Reese told reporters in a resurfaced clip from the fall of 2023 as she began her senior season at LSU. “We’ve been competing since we were in AAU. Back in AAU, we were always competing. I remember she was on All Iowa Attack and we were playing against each other in AAU. It was always fun and always competitive.”
“I hope that one day she and I can be teammates because she’s a great player, a great shooter, a great person and a great teammate,” Reese added.
It looks like Reese will get her wish at the upcoming WNBA All-Star Game, when the two rookies team up to take on the U.S. Olympic team on July 20 in Phoenix.
Clark, the Indiana Fever rookie sensation, has expressed some hesitation about teaming up with the Chicago Sky power forward, but not because of any animosity between the two: “I know people are going to be very excited about it, but I hope it doesn’t come at the expense of everyone else. This is a huge accomplishment for everyone on Team USA and everyone on Team WNBA. They all deserve the same praise.”
Angel Reese recently set a WNBA record with her tenth consecutive double-double
Indiana’s Caitlin Clark handles the ball during the game against the Las Vegas Aces
Reese’s feelings for Clark have changed somewhat now that they are both pros.
Aside from Reese’s egregious foul on Clark on June 16, she has repeatedly reminded reporters that there is more than one notable rookie playing in the WNBA this season.
Reese also claimed that Clark would benefit from a “special whistle” from the officials.
Reese, of course, directed wrestler John Cena’s “You Can’t See Me” hand gesture toward Clark during the 2023 NCAA Championship — a move the Iowa star had also directed toward another player earlier in the tournament.
Clark and Reese are inextricably linked in the history of women’s basketball.
Their 2023 NCAA Finals game, which saw Reese’s LSU Tigers win a national championship over Clark’s Hawkeyes, remains one of the highest-rated games in the history of the sport. And their April 4 rematch in the Elite 8 ultimately surpassed that mark.
Reese points to her ring finger after performing John Cena’s ‘You Can’t See Me’ on Clark in 2023
Since finishing first and seventh in the draft in April, the two have had a similar impact on the WNBA, which is set to attract record viewership in 2024.
And on the field they certainly didn’t disappoint.
Reese recently tied her WNBA record with her 10th consecutive double-double, while Clark has climbed to 18th in the league in scoring with 16 points per game.
Aside from some recent shooting struggles (Clark has made 3 of 17 shots from distance in her last two games), the former Hawkeyes star has helped the Fever to victories in six of their last eight games.
Currently, Fever (8-13) and Sky (7-11) are battling for the eighth and final spot in the WNBA playoffs.