3 ways Angel Reese has directed her Caitlin Clark rivalry with her own actions

This season the WNBA saw the arrival of Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese, who have been constantly making the headlines since their debut in the league. Both rookies are great players and have become starters for their respective teams. The competition between them goes back to their collegiate days when Reese used to play for LSU and Clark played for Iowa.

These two are often compared to each other or as a bar for the rookies this year. Although Clark has denied having any rivalry with the Sky rookie, the frequent comparisons have imposed that narrative on the minds of the fans. Moreover, Reese's actions have helped fuel these narratives and directed people to draw parallels between her and Clark.

So, here are the three ways Angel Reese has directed her rivalry with Caitlin Clark:

3 ways Angel Reese has directed her rivalry with Caitlin Clark

#1. Cheering a flagrant foul on Caitlin Clark

The first matchup of the Chicago Sky against Indiana Fever saw Sky player Chennedy Carter commit a controversial dead-ball foul on Clark. As Carter fouled the Fever rookie, Reese jumped up from her seat and started hyping her up.

Carter shoved the Fever rookie in the back with a shoulder when the ball was not in play. The referee had initially called the foul a common one but after the match, it was upgraded to a flagrant one. The behavior displayed by Reese was commendable and fueled the narrative of her not liking Clark.

#2. Comparing herself to Clark on national television

After the controversial Channedy Carter foul game, Reese did a post-game interview where she said the following:

"Yeah, the reason why we watching women's basketball is not just because of one person. It's because of me, too. And I want y'all to realize that," said Reese.

Her statements were targeted towards the narrative of Caitlin Clark's appearance boosting the league's rating and viewership across the nation and weren't altogether well-received by fans.

#3. Playing the villain

Arguably the biggest contributor to fuelling the Clark-Reese narrative is Angel Reese portraying herself as a villain in a rivalry that Clark denies exists. The Sky rookie told the media in March Madness that while she has no ill will toward Clark, she would take the "villain role":

"We're not buddies. I'm gonna trash talk to you. I'm gonna do whatever it takes to get in your head the whole entire game ... I'll take the villain role. I'll take the hate for it."

It's important to note that Angel Reese does this from a competitive angle only, and outside of basketball is friendly toward Caitlin Clark.