Angel Reese seemingly threw a subtle jab at Caitlin Clark in a tweet she quickly removed after her team, the Chicago Sky, defeated the New York Liberty 90-81 on Thursday night.
Clark, chosen first overall in this year’s WNBA Draft by the Indiana Fever after an illustrious college career at Iowa, has had a challenging start in the professional league, losing her first five games. In contrast, Reese, a standout from LSU, has contributed significantly to the Chicago Sky’s early successes, including two wins in their first three games, scoring a total of 35 points.
After the victory over the Liberty, Reese posted a provocative message on X that seemed to take aim at Clark, though she soon deleted it. The message read: “And that’s on getting a WIN in a packed area not just cause of one player on our charter flight. #SKYTOWN,” accompanied by a blowing-a-kiss emoji.
RELATED: Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso’s First Pitch at the Chicago Cubs Game Goes Viral
Despite the rivalry, Reese addressed the broader impact of women’s basketball in her post-game comments, pushing back against the notion that the sport’s recent surge in popularity is solely due to Clark. “It’s not just one person, I think people don’t realize that,” Reese stated. “The narrative out there is that just one person is changing the game. It’s a lot of us. There are so many great players and it’s been long overdue and just being able to see that our impact has been able to change the game.”
Reese and Clark have a history of rivalry from their college days, with memorable moments such as Reese using John Cena’s ‘U Can’t See Me’ gesture towards Clark during a game, adding fuel to their competitive fire.
In ESPN’s recent docuseries “Full Court Press,” Clark expressed frustration over the media focus on these rivalrous moments rather than the achievements of her team. Iowa coach Lisa Bluder also commented on the media’s role, criticizing their approach for stirring unnecessary controversy.
Overall, Reese emphasized the collective effort in advancing women’s basketball, “I love it for us all, and we’re just going to continue to keep going,” she concluded, underscoring the team and community aspects of the sport.
