Fans blast Atlanta Dream co-owner for placing Angel Reese on par with Caitlin Clark: "So annoying and embarrassing" 

Atlanta Dream owner Renee Montgomery sparked backlash from WNBA fans on social media after suggesting that Angel Reese's impact on the league and women's basketball in general is at par with that of Caitlin Clark.

Speaking on "The Rich Eisen Show" on Oct. 30, Montgomery touched on "The Caitlin Clark Effect," saying that Clark's arrival benefitted not only her Indiana Fever but also the rest of the WNBA by generating significant interest.

Montgomery, however, said that it was not only Clark who should be credited for it but the entire 2024 rookie class, which included her rival Reese of the Chicago Sky.

Her comments led to a flurry of dissenting takes on X (formerly Twitter), with some users expressing their One fan wrote:

"It's so annoying the way they try to implement this narrative that Angel as the same level of impact in the league as Caitlin. Everybody knows it's not the same. Even Angel knows. It's embarrassing."

"They always have to mention them in the same sentence & personally I'm numb to it lol it's honestly expected because they do it every time it is what it is. I'm worried no matter what Caitlin accomplished they'll always attach Angel Reese to her & continue putting them in the same sentence," another user said.

"Caitlin Clark is in another stratosphere, and it pisses them off," a fan added.

Another fan said the "downplaying" of Clark has been a season-long "pattern":

"Yeah it's a pattern, it's either they mention Angel Reese in the same sentence to down play Caitlin Clark or mention the entire rookie class they've been doing it since Caitlin joined the WNBA."

Some fans, meanwhile, lashed out at what they believed to be lies directed towards Caitlin Clark.

One fan wrote:

"We all know by now that they hate that she is the face of the league. But to lie about the facts. Its crazy."

"'It embarassing, Rich was like that's not what I asked..." another

Caitlin Clark and Reese captured significant attention during the recent WNBA season, with their fierce rivalry from college spilling over into the WNBA, catching the attention of fans both old and new.

Arrival of Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese a boon to the WNBA

They may be rivals on the court, but Clark and Reese proved to be a boon to the WNBA, generating renewed interest in the league following their arrivals.

The games that the two were involved in were certified blockbusters, both in terms of attendance and TV viewership. Their matchup on June 23, for instance, where the Chicago Sky won over the Indiana Fever, 88-87, drew 2.3 million viewers. The WNBA draft involving the players hit an average of 2.4 million viewers, a more than threefold increase from the previous year.

More importantly, with the league now featuring both players, expectations are high for continued growth across various metrics moving forward.