Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark and Atlanta Dream forward Angel Reese
exchanged words in the first quarter of Saturday’s game. Who cares?
The Clark-Reese rivalry, which once dominated the front pages of sports sections, has now been relegated to the back page. Those will stay there if the gap between the Fever and Dream keeps growing.
Fever’s mediocrity dampens excitement surrounding Caitlin Clark-Angel Reese rivalry
The Dream beat the Fever 113-96 at home on Saturday, improving to 11-4 and taking a 2-1 lead in the regular-season series against Indiana. The Fever, meanwhile, dropped to 9-7.
With Indiana still struggling with turnovers, figure on the Fever hovering just above .500 for most of the season. They committed 19 turnovers in Saturday’s loss to Atlanta. Clark had seven turnovers.
Head coach Stephanie White called out the team for its inability to take care of the ball in her postgame news conference. Clark admitted she must avoid turnovers. While she’s listening to some of White’s coaching, that doesn’t mean their relationship, which has seemingly grown tense, is on great terms. The sharpshooting guard appeared to roll her eyes at the coach during a sideline discussion in the third quarter of Saturday’s game.
Clark and White must resolve their differences for a talented Fever team — which features guard Kelsey Mitchell and center Aliyah Boston — to reach its ceiling. With the way things are unfolding, that’s not going to happen this season.
The Dream, meanwhile, aren’t bickering, putting them in a position to win their first championship. As of Sunday, ESPN’s Basketball Power Index lists Atlanta No. 1 in the league and gives it the best chance to win a title (22.4 percent).
Reese has been a catalyst in those efforts. Through 15 games, she has averaged a career-high 15.3 points per game and a league-leading 11.9 rebounds per game. Against Indiana on Saturday, she scored 18 points and grabbed eight rebounds.
Clark remains one of the most electric players in the WNBA, but she hasn’t been super efficient. Through 15 games, she has recorded 21.1 PPG on 42.3 percent shooting (33.3 percent from three). Perhaps if she played for a true championship contender like the Dream, her numbers would be more impressive.
When Clark and Reese burst onto the scene in 2024, basketball fans thought it would be the next great rivalry that would raise the WNBA’s profile. The stars have helped the league become much more popular, but interest in their rivalry is beginning to fade.
Rivalries between stars are at their best when both teams are competing for a title. Atlanta is, but Indiana isn’t. The Fever would have the No. 7 seed if the postseason began on Sunday.
That makes Clark’s and Reese’s verbal exchange on Saturday feel like a story that would go in the D block of a sports talk show, not one that would lead the A block.
