Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese split WNBA fans with answers on physical play before they face off on Saturday: ‘One’s a baby, the other is tough
WNBA fans have been fanning the embers before Saturday’s blockbuster matchup between Angel Reese and Chicago Sky against Caitlin Clark and Iowa.
A Chicago Bulls fan account has released film of both Reese and Clark answering questions about how they handle players being tough with them – with Reese, who helped Chicago Sky beat the Sparks on Thursday, loving the challenge and Clark apparently annoyed by it.
‘I’m a basketball player, they don’t give a damn if I’m a rookie,’ Reese says, referencing a collision last week with Alyssa Thomas of the Connecticut Sun. ‘They’re not meant to be kind to me and lay down just because I’m Angel Reese. I got back up, I kept going and I kept pushing.’
Clark, meanwhile, speaking two days ago after her 30-point game in the loss to Los Angeles Sparks, said: ‘I think everybody’s physical with me. They get away with things that, probably, other people don’t get away with. It’s tough.’
Angel Reese vs Caitlin Clark on how players are becoming physical to them. pic.twitter.com/aPHIJrdHtj
— BullsKickAss (@Bullskickass) May 30, 2024
Fans have compared Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark’s comments about handling physical play
Clark has asked out for greater support from officials in the early days of her WNBA career
With Clark and Reese poised to meet off Saturday for the first time in the WNBA, the differences in attitude sent fans into frenzy on social media.
‘Somebody’s a baby and the other one is tough,’ remarked one fan in the comments, while another wrote: ‘I think AR knows how to work an audience better (why her social media presence is through the roof).
‘AR knew everyone would enjoy that reaction and CC answers exactly how she sees it (right or bad).’
A different fan said: ‘Okay… Let’s put things in perspective. Angel Reese is a powerful down-low player who thrives on contact and, in a sense, bully ball.
‘CC is a sharpshooter so of course she doesn’t like physical play. She is not used to it yet but she will accept the challenge.’
Another said: ‘To me, it’s more about their body language when chatting. AR head is up and seems positive. CC head down reading something, appearing pessimistic.’
Clark was the first pick in the WNBA Draft earlier this year, while Reese went at No 7 to Chicago Sky.
The two were big rivals at collegiate level, with Reese at LSU and Clark at Iowa.
In a 2023 game between LSU and Iowa, Reese did WWE legend John Cena’s ‘U Can’t See Me’ gesture in front of Clark – something the latter earlier made famous in a game
Last week, Reese seemed criticize Clark in a deleted tweet after the New York Liberty win
The Tigers star also stared at her collegiate foe and pointed at her ring finger late in the fourth quarter.
And last week, Reese appeared to take a shot at Clark when the Sky beat New York Liberty in the Big Apple.
After the 90-81 win last Thursday night, Reese wrote on X: ‘And that’s on getting a WIN in a packed area not only becuase of one player on our charter trip. #SKYTOWN,’ she said, with a blowing-a-kiss emoji at the end.
Reese and her Sky team did not have charter flights at the start of the season, but Clark and Indiana did. Reese’s mother later indicated that the deleted post was aimed at the media, not at Clark.
Clark and the Fever have the second-worst record in the WNBA at now, standing at 1-8 while Reese and Sky are 3-3 going into Saturday’s game.
