On a spectacular night for the WNBA All-Stars, who defeated Team USA in the league’s All-Star game, Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese set records.
The two highest-profile rookies and rivals in the WNBA were part of the winning team in Phoenix even though neither was included on the Americans’ Olympic roster.
Clark set the rookie record for assists in an All-Star Game with 10. She fell two assists shy of Sue Bird’s all-time All-Star record of 12.
Bird sat courtside during the game alongside her wife and soccer legend Megan Rapinoe.
Reese became the first rookie to record a double-double in WNBA All-Star Game history.
Caitlin Clark set the WNBA All-Star Game rookie assists record on Saturday night
Angel Reese became the first rookie in WNBA All-Star history to record a double-double.
The Chicago Sky star scored 12 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in the WNBA-All Stars’ 117-109 victory over Team USA.
The rivalry between Clark and Reese has been well documented at the college and professional levels.
In addition to the 2023 national championship game between Reese’s LSU and Clark’s Iowa, the Tigers and Hawkeyes also met in the Elite Eight earlier this year, with Iowa’s win ending LSU’s bid to repeat as a titleholder in what ended up being Reese’s final college game.
Clark was selected six picks higher than Reese in April’s WNBA Draft, and the two had already met three times as professionals.
Clark’s team, the Indiana Fever, won the first two matchups, and Reese’s team, the Chicago Sky, emerged victorious in the final one. Those matches were filled with tense moments between Clark and a Sky player.
On June 1, Chennedy Carter slapped Clark in an act that fans called not in good faith with basketball.
Carter declined to answer questions on the topic at a postgame press conference, but reaffirmed her stance online by stating “besides three-point shooting, what does she bring to the table?” on Threads.
On June 16, Reese committed a flagrant foul against Clark when the former LSU star missed a block attempt and hit Clark in the head with his arm, sending his opponent to the ground in pain.
Reese also spoke badly of Clark and his team in front of the press, claiming they had a “special whistle.”
However, it seems any bad blood that exists between Clark and Reese is only as opponents.