The WNBA announced its 2024 All-Star teams on Tuesday night, and for the first time in a decade there are two rookies that will be participating in the annual showdown: Indiana’s Caitlin Clark and Chicago’s Angel Reese.
Needless to say, the popularity and draw of those two players will be a significant storyline that weekend.
Clark just hopes it isn’t too big.
“I don’t think I’ve ever been her teammate before, even with USA Basketball or anything like that,” Clark said of Reese. “So I know people are going to be really excited about it, but I hope it doesn’t take away from everybody else.”
The Clark-Reese duo have formed a budding rivalry that dates back to their college days. Things first started to get a little heated when Reese threw back one of Clark’s signature “you can’t see me” moves at her during the 2023 national championship game, then aggressively pointed at her ring finger in front of Clark in the waning moments.
The two would go on to post tremendous college careers, becoming top WNBA Draft picks and now All-Stars.
Since then, both have become superstars, driving league viewership and attendance to new heights on a routine basis. But while that growth for the game is great, Clark doesn’t want it to be singular in its focus during the All-Star game.
“This is a huge accomplishment for everybody on Team USA and everybody on Team WNBA,” she said. “They all deserve the same praise. I don’t want to take away from any of that and just be the focal point of All-Star weekend, because that’s not fair to them.”
There’s only so much of that that will be within Clark’s control, of course. Her fans are rabid and will be there to support her in force. The same is true of Reese.
Still, the young star is saying all the right things as she heads into her first All-Star game.
“Obviously this is something that’s really hard to accomplish, so it would be best if we can celebrate all of them, would be great,” Clark said. “Just going to soak in the experience, because you never know if you’re ever going to be able to get back there. It’ll be fun for all of us.”
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