The WNBA All-Star Game marks the first time Clark and Reese will play for the same team
Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese will be playing for the same team after both were named to their first WNBA All-Star Game on Tuesday night.

Clark and Reese, both 22, headlined the 12-player roster announced July 3, which also includes Nneka Ogwumike, DeWanna Bonner, Aliyah Boston and Kelsey Mitchell, among others.

The All-Stars will play their fellow WNBA players who were named to the U.S. Women’s National Team on July 20 in Phoenix, ahead of the 2024 Summer Olympics which begin the week afterwards.

The WNBA All-Star Game marks the first time Clark and Reese will play on the same team amid a rivalry that dates back to being opponents in college when Clark played for the University of Iowa and Reese with Louisiana State University. They met in a thrilling NCAA Championship Game in 2023, which Reese and LSU won, and again during the Elite Eight in the 2024 tournament, which saw Clark and Iowa as the victors.

Clark was selected No. 1 overall by the Indiana Fever in this year’s WNBA Draft, while Reese was selected No. 7 overall by the Chicago Sky.

“I don’t think I’ve ever been her teammate before, even at USA Basketball. I know people will be really excited about it, but I hope it doesn’t take away from everyone else,” Clark said, according to ESPN. “This is a huge accomplishment for everybody on Team USA and everyone on Team WNBA. They all deserve the same praise. I don’t want it to take away from any of that and be the focal point of All-Star weekend because that’s not fair to them.”

Reese reportedly became emotional after she was informed about being named to the All-Star team on Tuesday night.

“I’m just so happy. I know the work I put in,” Reese said, according to ESPN. “Coming into this league, so many people doubted me and didn’t think my game would translate and I wouldn’t be the player that I was in college or better or would be worse and wouldn’t be where I am right now.”

Reese continued: “But I trusted the process and I believed and I’m thankful that I dropped to [pick No. 7] and was able to come to Chicago. And like, it’s just a blessing. I can’t thank my teammates and my coaches enough for just believing in me and trusting me. I know all of them are going to come to Phoenix and support me. So I’m really happy right now.”

Fans first took notice of the two WNBA stars’ on-court rivalry in 2023 when Reese’s LSU squad topped Iowa to win its first NCAA title. As the game ended, Reese pointed at her ring finger — a double reference to her team’s championship win and to a gesture Clark made earlier in the tournament, waving her hand in front of her face like WWE star John Cena.

Their rivalry has continued in the WNBA as both players have found early success with Indiana and Chicago, respectively. Reese and Clark’s teams have already played close and intense games against one another, including a mid-June matchup that spawned headlines around the sports world when Reese was called for a flagrant foul after connecting with Clark’s head during a drive to the basket.

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Just halfway through their rookie seasons, Clark and Reese’s rivalry has already drawn comparisons to perhaps basketball’s most storied rivalry between Los Angeles Lakers great Magic Johnson and Boston Celtics legend Larry Bird, a rivalry that dated back to their days in the NCAA. Johnson himself wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter) last month: “When I think about Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese’s impact on the game, they remind me a lot of Larry Bird and me.”

But as hard fought as their rivalry has been on the court, both Clark and Reese have made it clear that their competition is only on the court.

“I don’t think people realize it’s not personal,” Reese told reporters earlier this year, ahead of their NCAA Tournament rematch. “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.’ I think people just take it like we hate each other. Me and Caitlin Clark don’t hate each other. I want everybody to understand that. It’s just a super-competitive game.”