Angel Reese And Caitlin Clark’s REAL Relationship: All About Their On-Court History

“I love that we’re able to compete and still be cool after, regardless of the outside noise,” the LSU basketball star told Women’s Health.

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Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese have taken their rivalry to the big leagues.

The former collegiate rivals have faced off again in the WNBA. The pair made headlines after one of Angel’s teammates fouled Caitlin—and Angel was seen clapping.

On June 1 Caitlin’s Indiana Fever hosted Angel’s Chicago Sky, in the players’ first match-up since their Elite Eight game in 2024 March Madness. (There, Caitlin’s Hawkeyes came out on top, but lost in the finals to South Carolina.)

Indiana won the game by one point, but the team is instead making headlines for a foul against Caitlin. In one play, Chennedy Carter knocked Caitlin to the ground. Angel was photographed clapping, which caused headlines and a ton of renewed attention on this feud, per the Associated Press.

The same thing happened in the wake of LSU’s 2023 championship run (where they beat Caitlin’s Hawkeyes in the finals). Online chatter about a supposed rivalry between the two players dominated headlines.

But Angel set the record straight in her March/April cover interview with Women’s Health.

“I love that we’re able to compete and still be cool after, regardless of the outside noise,” Angel told WH. “When we get between the lines and we’re ready to compete, we just want to win. That’s just the group of women—we always want to win, and we’re strong and super powerful in everything that we do.”

It’s also not lost on Angel that the more people talk about the “rivalry” between her and Caitlin, the more airtime they each get—not to mention, the increased public interest ultimately benefits women’s basketball.

Ahead, here’s a look back at the history between Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark, what’s been said about their rivalry, and how they actually respect one another—on and off the court.

Angel says that fouls are “not personal.”

On Monday, Angel spoke to reporters about the game, saying that fouls are not personal.

“When we go out there and play super hard, compete every single day, it’s not personal,” she told reporter, per US Weekly.

“I promise you it’s based off of our stories and where we’ve come from. We’ve come from so many places that you guys have never seen or would never understand, so just being able to go out there and play with that chip on our shoulder every single night, that’s just what we do and that’s just who we are.”

Angel and Caitlin played AAU basketball together.

The players didn’t meet on the collegiate court; they’ve been competing against each other since their high school Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) days.

Before the 2023-2024 season began, Angel cleared the air on the situation that speculated animosity between Caitlin. “Oh my gosh, I love Caitlin; we’ve been competing since we were in AAU,” she told reporters during LSU’s media day in October 2023. “It was always fun, always competitive. One day, hopefully, we could even be teammates. She is a great player, shooter, person and teammate.”

Watch Angel’s interview below:

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LSU Angel Reese interview, Tiger women’s basketball

Things came to a head during the 2023 national championship game.

As time dwindled down at the end of the biggest game of the season, Angel pointed to her ring finger as Caitlin walked past her. She also waved her hand to make John Cena’s famous “You can’t see me” gesture in Caitlin’s direction. In that game, LSU won over the Hawkeyes 102-85.

GREG NELSON//GETTY IMAGES
Caitlin Clark (L) and Angel Reese (R) during the women’s college basketball national championship game.

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In 2024, the two faced off again during the Elite Eight of the NCAA March Madness tournament, where the Hawkeyes came out on top, 94-87.

While making hand gestures and outwardly showing competitiveness in basketball isn’t out of the norm, many people took to social media to say that Angel was inappropriately taunting her opponent, even though Caitlin had made the same gesture just a few games prior.

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Angel was asked about that trash talk ahead of the 2024 rematch between herself and Caitlin, and made it pretty clear that there’s no bad blood. “I don’t think people realize it’s not personal,” she said, per ESPN. “Once we get out between those lines, if I see you walking down the street, it’s like, ‘Hey, girl, what’s up? Let’s hang out.’”

She added that it’s “fine” if people don’t like her trash talking, saying, “I’ll take the villain role.”

“I’ll take the hit for it, but I know we’re growing women’s basketball,” she said. “If this is the way we’re going to do it, then this is the way we’re going to do it. You either like it or you don’t.”

“People are going to say what they want to say, but I know how many people I have impacted in a positive way,” Angel told WH, reflecting on the situation nearly a year later. “I don’t live with any regrets.”

Caitlin has also been quick to defend Angel amid the social media backlash. “I don’t think Angel should be criticized at all,” she told ESPN’s Outside the Lines in April 2023. “No matter which way it goes, she should never be criticized for what she did. I’m just one that competes, and she competed. I think everybody knew there was going to be a little trash talk. It’s not just me and Angel. I don’t think she should be criticized, like I said. LSU deserves it. They played so well. Like I said, I’m a big fan of hers.”

Caitlin had an impressive 2024, smashing the all-time NCAA Division 1 scoring record—for men’s and women’s basketball—earlier this month. And Angel was there to cheer her on the entire time.

“Congratulations @CaitlinClark22 KEEP BREAKING RECORDS & MAKING HER-STORY!” Angel wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter) when Caitlin broke the women’s record in February.

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They both went pro during the WNBA draft.

In April, both players were selected during the 2024 WNBA draft: Caitlin went first to the Fever, while Angel was picked up seventh by the Sky. Since then, both players survived roster cuts to make their WNBA debuts.

And while Caitlin has had a rockin’ individual performance, the Sky are eighth in the league, while the Fever have fallen to eleventh.

Caitlin was fouled by one of Angel’s teammates.

In their first post-collegiate matchup, Chennedy Carter knocked Caitlin to the ground. Angel was photographed clapping, which caused headlines and a ton of renewed attention on this feud.

The WNBA upgraded the foul to a Flagrant 1, per Deadline. Fouls hold different points tracked by the league, that can add up to a suspension.

Angel was fined for not speaking to the media

After the game, Angel declined to speak with reporters. The league fined the newbie $1,000 for not complying with the media requirements, per Deadline.

All eyes will certainly be on these two as the season continues!