$818,000 NIL-valued Caitlin Clark drops verdict on the role of trash talk: "It's what makes basketball fun"

Iowa Hawkeyes superstar guard Caitlin Clark broke the women's college basketball scoring record in spectacular fashion against Michigan on Thursday night, scoring 49 points to obliterate the record.

Clark, with an On3 NIL valuation of $818,000, is a renowned trash-talker and reiterated her stance on the matter during a recent interview with ESPN.

"I think it's really good," Clark said. "I think it's what makes basketball so fun. ... I've always been that way since I was a young girl."

Caitlin Clark and her role in the big trash talk saga

Caitlin Clark and LSU Tigers forward Angel Reese had a hand in making the 2022-23 national championship game the most-watched women's basketball contest of all time, with 9.9 million viewers.

The matchup has gained legendary status and has entered the annals of great college basketball games due to the hand motion mimicking John Cena's "You can't see me" gesture made by Reese towards Clark towards the end of the game.

Reese received a lot of flak from fans and analysts alike for that moment, and it became a point of contention in the college basketball world.

A week after the game, the record-breaking Clark diffused the situation while speaking to ESPN.

“I don’t think Angel should be criticized at all,” said Clark. “I’m just one that competes, and she competed. I think everybody knew there was gonna be a little trash talk in the entire tournament. It’s not just me and Angel.

“We’re all competitive. We all show our emotions in a different way. You know, Angel is a tremendous, tremendous player. I have nothing but respect for her. I love her game – the way she rebounds the ball, scores the ball is absolutely incredible. I’m a big fan of her and even the entire LSU team. They played an amazing game.”

Speaking to ESPN last year, Angel Reese revealed her admiration for Caitlin Clark, contrary to what the pair's fans think.

"I love Caitlin; we've been competing since we were in AAU," Reese said. "It was always fun, always competitive. One day, hopefully, we could even be teammates. She is a great player, shooter, person and teammate.

"The world is always going to have a good girl and a bad girl. I'll take that I'm going to be the bad guy because I know I've grown women's basketball and inspired people."

After the trash talk incident, tensions have been high between the two opposing camps championing Reese versus Clark, and the LSU forward addressed the divide.

"Yeah, LSU loves me, but they might not like her. People can think what they think," Reese said. "Me and Caitlin are cool; we've never had any issues. Just knowing I've helped grow women's basketball, and she has, too, that's all that matters."

The role that Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese's trash-talking has played in increasing the interest in college basketball cannot be spoken about enough.