Magic Johnson and Larry Bird joined forces on the 1992 Dream Team, Wayne Gretzky shared a line with Mario Lemieux at the 1987 Canada Cup, and now WNBA Rivals Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese team up against the U.S. Olympic team at next all-star game.
“I don’t think I’ve ever been (Reese’s) teammate before, even in USA Basketball,” Clark said Tuesday night after her Indiana The fever has broken for the defending champion Las Vegas Aces, 88-69, in front of 20,366 fans – the fifth-largest crowd in league history.
Reese, a power forward for the Chicago Sky, and Clark headline the WNBA All-Star team that will face the U.S. Olympic team on July 20 in Phoenix. Both were snubbed by Team USAbut now they have a chance to prove themselves against A’Ja Wilson & Co., who will use the exhibition as an Olympic warm-up before the Paris Games.
But while Clark is excited to play with Reese — her college rival and leading contender for the WNBA’s rookie of the year award — she worries they’ll distract from some of the attention that should be on the Olympians and other All-Stars.
“I know people are going to be really excited, but I hope it doesn’t ruin everybody’s life,” Clark said. “It’s a huge accomplishment for everybody on Team USA and Team WNBA. They all deserve equal praise. I don’t want it to ruin anything and make it the focal point of All-Star weekend because that wouldn’t be fair to them.”
Indiana’s Caitlin Clark handles the ball during the game against the Las Vegas Aces
Angel Reese recently set a WNBA record with her 10th consecutive double-double.
Clark is joined by Fever teammate Aliyah Boston on the WNBA All-Star team, marking Boston’s second All-Star nomination in as many years.
Clark received the most votes with 700,735 votes, while Boston was second, just 72,000 votes behind. Reese was fifth with 381,518 votes.
“Obviously it’s a really tough thing to accomplish, so whatever we can do to celebrate it’s going to be great and we’re obviously going to enjoy the experience because, like, you never know if you’ll ever get to go back and it’ll be fun for all of us,” Clark said after Tuesday’s loss in Las Vegas.
Reese, the seventh overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft, got emotional when talking about being selected to the team.
“I’m so happy,” she said through tears. “All the work I put in, coming into this league, so many people doubted me — they didn’t think my game would be effective and that I wouldn’t be the player I was in college… I trusted the process and believed in it.”
Other All-Stars include Arike Ogunbowale (Dallas Wings) and nine-time All-Star Nneka Ogwumike (Seattle Storm).
Clark and Reese are already inextricably linked in women’s basketball history.
Their 2023 NCAA Finals game, when Reese’s LSU Tigers won a national championship over Clark’s Hawkeyes, remains one of the highest-rated games in sports history. Their April 4 rematch in the Elite 8 eventually surpassed that record, and both had a similar impact on the WNBA, which is set for record viewership in 2024.
And they didn’t really disappoint on the pitch.
Reese recently recorded her 10th consecutive double-double, a WNBA record, while Clark moved up to 17th in the league in scoring at 16 points per game.
And aside from some recent shooting woes (Clark is 3 of 17 from three-point range in his last two outings), the former Hawkeyes star has helped the Fever win six of their last eight games.
Currently, the Fever (8-13) and the Sky (7-11) are battling for the eighth and final spot in the WNBA playoffs.
“I’m so happy,” she told reporters through tears. “All the work I put in, coming into this league, so many people doubted me – they didn’t think my game would be effective and that I wouldn’t be the player I was in college … I trusted the process and believed in it.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever been a teammate of hers before, even in USA Basketball,” Clark said of teaming up with former college rival Reese, according to ESPN. “I know people are going to be really excited about it, but I hope it doesn’t hurt everyone.”
“Obviously it’s a really hard thing to accomplish, so whatever we can do to celebrate them all is going to be great and we’re obviously going to enjoy the experience because, like, you never know if we’ll ever get to go back and it’ll be fun for all of us.
