PHOENIX — Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese will once again be in the spotlight during All-Star Weekend with their showdown against the US Olympic Team.
They will arrive form a team for the first time on the WNBA All-Star team after being rivals in college. Reese’s LSU team led Clark’s Iowa team to the national championship in 2023. The Hawkeyes knocked out the Tigers last year in the Elite Eight.
Although there has been so much excitement about the duo entering WNBA, the duo showed that they can compete with the best players in the championship. It helped show that this isn’t just a moment for the WNBA, but a larger movement for the sport.
Clark was quick to deflect that the movement is more for all women’s sports than just basketball.
“I definitely think it’s a lot more than women’s basketball. I think you look at all women’s sports in general and people really invest in it and show up,” she said. “Obviously, women’s basketball has been at the forefront of all of this. And for good reason, as it should be in every aspect, whether it’s women’s college basketball or the WNBA. The talent level has been really good.”
Although Clark and Reese were challenged through physical play on the court and a lot of external noise off the court during their rookie season, they flourished.
“I told Angel in the draft that I’m not trying to put anything heavy on her, but this championship depends on you playing, you know that well. And she understood, she understood that things weren’t going to be handed to her,” said WNBA union president Nneka Ogwumike. “I think that’s why she’s okay. I think there were a lot of naysayers and I think there was a lot of debris coming Caitlin’s way and they handled it well.”
The duo helped the league record ratings and attendance during the first part of the season, building on what they both achieved in college. Clark finished as the all-time NCAA Division I scoring leader and Clark won an NCAA championship at LSU.
The duo’s success so far in their debut WNBA season has potentially helped increase the WNBA’s value for its agreement of the new media right that’s worth about $2.2 billion over 11 years.
“They’re handling it the best they can and it’s always good if they can back it up,” Aces star A’ja Wilson said. “Being really good at what they do is important because it wouldn’t be good if they weren’t and no one wants to watch you play.”
Reese is currently leading the league in rebounds and Clark is tops in assists. She just broke the only league game assist mark with 19 against Dallas in Indiana’s last game before the Olympic break. Reese has already broken the WNBA record for consecutive double-doubles in a season.
“I never would have dreamed I would play in the All-Star Game as a rookie,” Reese said.
The Sky’s rookie star hit the half-court shot late in training.
Brittney Griner was part of the last group of college players who had great enthusiasm in 2013, with Elena Delle Donne and Skylar Diggins-Smith. The trio had stellar WNBA careers, but they didn’t move the needle in the same way that Clark, Reese and the rest of this rookie class have done so far.
“We saw what they could do and why wouldn’t it be translated?” Griner said. “They work hard and do everything. They’re not just making the rounds in the media, they’re also playing a lot. I’m very happy that there is validation for all the people who had doubts.”
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