Over the last two years, the friendly rivalry between Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark and Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese has elevated two games—women's college basketball and the WNBA—to never-before-seen heights.
Like all truly great sports rivalries, however, Clark and Reese's rivalry is built on mutual respect. On Saturday morning, Clark demonstrated that by praising both Reese and Sky center Kamilla Cardoso before the Fever played Chicago in the afternoon.
"The thing about (Reese), she's been so dominant at what she does ever since we played in high school," Clark said via Julia Poe of The Chicago Tribune. "She's always had a knack for being able to rebound the ball and that's just translated immediately to the WNBA."
Caitlin Clark had high praise for Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso ahead of today’s game.
“(Angel) has been so dominant at what she does ever since we played in high school.”
Reese entered Saturday averaging 8.2 rebounds per game, ninth in the WNBA.
"Kamilla caused us a lot of problems in the national championship," Clark said of Cardoso. "Kamilla is just scratching the surface of her potential... it's been a lot of fun to watch those two kind of evolve over their college careers."
Each of the trio had a role to play in Indiana's eventual 71–70 win. Clark scored 11 points, pulled down eight rebounds and gave out eight assists; Reese scored eight points and pulled down 13 rebounds; Cardoso scored 11 points and had six rebounds.
Saturday's game between the Indiana Fever and Chicago Sky was supposed to be a celebration of the WNBA's most heralded rookie class ever, with Fever guard Caitlin Clark squaring off against Sky forward Angel Reese and center Kamilla Cardoso.
While still a memorable game—Indiana won 71–70—it became yet another unfortunate referendum on Clark's reputation throughout the league.
Late in the third quarter, Chicago guard Chennedy Carter slammed into Clark on an inbounds pass and was called for an off-ball foul.
When the quarter was over, Clark was asked about the foul.
“Yeah, that’s just not a basketball play,” Clark said via The New York Post. “But you know I’ve gotta play through it, that’s what basketball is about at this level.”
Chennedy Carter fouls Caitlin Clark on the inbound. Away-from-play foul called. pic.twitter.com/LodLF5oKMF
Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark was on the receiving end of a hard off-ball foul late in the third quarter of Saturday’s matchup against the Chicago Sky.
On a Fever inbounding play, the Sky’s Chennedy Carter bumped Clark to the floor and was assessed a common away-from-play foul, not a flagrant foul.
Chennedy Carter fouls Caitlin Clark on the inbound. Away-from-play foul called. pic.twitter.com/LodLF5oKMF
Clark appeared shaken up after the play, and when the quarter ended, she appealed to the refs for a harsher punishment for Carter. In an interview after the third quarter, Clark called Carter’s foul “not a basketball play.”
In the Fever’s loss to the Seattle Storm on Thursday, Clark had complained about the level of physicality in the league.
What is wrong with all of these WNBA players. They’ve turned into Draymond Green level maniacs out here. You could make a compilation at this point and it’s only ten games into Caitlin Clark’s career pic.twitter.com/QTzJ5DeMTW
Despite Carter's foul, the Fever clinched its first home win of the season, beating the Sky 71–70. Clark finished with 11.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and 6.0 assists, shooting 4-of-11 from the field and 2-of-9 from three.
In a postgame press conference, Carter refused to comment on her altercation with Clark.
There have been plenty of people making a run at Caitlin Clark during her rookie season in the WNBA, as defenses hone in on the Indiana Fever's star guard as the focal point of their defensive game plan.
Clark hasn't been one to back down from the competition, however, and after draining a big three-pointer against the Seattle Storm on Thursday night, she could be seen getting face-to-face with one of her opponents.
While walking back on defense after her deep three, Clark could be seen jawing back and forth with Storm's Victoria Vivians. The pair got up close and in each other's faces before Aliyah Boston swooped in and pulled her teammate out of the situation.
— Women’s Hoops Network (@WomensHoops_USA) May 30, 2024
Clark didn't look too pleased with Vivians as she turned to head back down the court, and they appeared to bump shoulders before being separated.
Officials assessed Vivians and Clark with double technical fouls and play resumed shortly after. Thursday's incident marks the second technical of the season for Indiana's prized rookie, having picked up her first in a game against the Connecticut Sun on May 20.
Good morning, I’m Dan Gartland. I don’t think the Timberwolves are going to complete the comeback, but I’m glad they’re at least shortening the break before the NBA Finals.
Over the course of her first seven WNBA games, Indiana Fever rookie Caitlin Clark looked like, well, a rookie. She had a handful of solid offensive performances (three games with at least 20 points) but also her fair share of struggles (like a 2-for-8 shooting night in a loss to the Las Vegas Aces on Saturday).
But in Tuesday night’s game against the Los Angeles Sparks, Clark had her first true superstar game as a pro, scoring 30 points (on 7-of-16 shooting) with five rebounds, six assists, three steals and three blocks. She’s the first rookie since Rhynne Howard in 2022 to have a 30-point game and the first since Sabrina Ionescu in ’20 to have 30 points, five assists and five rebounds in a game. Not impressed yet? Clark is the first rookie in WNBA history and just the fourth WNBA player ever to have at least 30 points, five assists, five rebounds, three blocks and three steals in a game.
That’s the kind of performance fans expected from Clark when she turned pro, and it was only a matter of time before it became a reality. Every rookie needs some time to adjust to the higher level of play in the pros, and the transition is especially hard for WNBA players who had barely a month between the end of their college season and the start of their rookie year.
But it wasn’t all positive news for Clark. For one thing, she also notched seven turnovers. Losing the ball has been the biggest problem for Clark in her brief pro career. She currently leads the WNBA in turnovers per game with 5.3, well ahead of the next closest player, Skyler Diggins-Smith with 4.3. Turnovers are nothing new for Clark. She led the NCAA in that category three times in her college career and ranks third on the all-time list. But if the biggest problem with her game is that she coughs the ball up a little more often than you’d like, that’s something the Fever can certainly live with.
More disappointingly, the Fever lost the game, 88–82, to drop to 1–7 on the season. That’s the second worst record in the league. Only the winless Washington Mystics (0–6) have been worse.
“I think I just played with an aggressive mindset,” Clark told reporters. “I think that was the biggest thing—to play downhill the best I could. We did some good things and then we just kind of shot ourselves in the foot.”
The Fever’s best stretch came immediately after halftime, when they started the third quarter on an 11–0 run to take a 43–37 lead. But the Sparks closed the quarter with an 11–0 run of their own to go up 59–55. The Los Angeles lead swelled to as many as 14 in the fourth quarter as the Fever failed to turn the tide.
“You don't give yourself a chance … You can't do something right for two and a half quarters and then just stop doing it,” Indiana coach Christie Sides said. “We were going under some of the screens that were supposed to be going over. We were gambling and getting out of position.
“Instead of us stepping over and stopping them (and) having our teammates’ back, we're reaching. That’s just a lack of discipline.”
The Fever clearly still have a lot to figure out, but the more games like Tuesday’s that Clark has, the easier the wins will come.
Towns stepped up to keep Minnesota alive vs. Dallas on Tuesday. / Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
If you think Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark's rise over the last four years—from Des Moines-area high school basketball star to one of the most transcendent college athletes ever—has been the stuff of Disney movies, you are not alone.
Disney+ will debut in the live sports space next Tuesday by airing Clark's WNBA regular season debut, ESPN toldThe Hollywood Reporter Tuesday.
The Fever are slated to open their season against the Connecticut Sun, one of four games scheduled for the league's first day. A second matchup between the Phoenix Mercury and Las Vegas Aces will also air on Disney+.
These two games will be the first traditional live sporting events to air on Disney+, barring a pair of themed animated telecasts of NFL and NHL games.
Clark was selected with the No. 1 pick by Indiana in the WNBA draft out of Iowa on April 15, part of a heralded rookie class that includes Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese and Los Angeles Sparks forward Cameron Brink.
Gregg Doyel, a longtime sportswriter with the Indy Star, has been suspended for two weeks and will not cover any Indiana Fever games this season after his press conference incident with Caitlin Clark, according to a report from Bob Kravitz.
Kravitz, a former writer at the Indy Star himself, broke the news on his Substack on Tuesday. Doyel has not published a column since April 29, despite the Pacers being in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Doyel would not comment on the incident or related suspension when reached by Kravitz for comment. He is expected to return to work on Monday, May 13.
Doyel's discipline stems from Clark's introductory press conference with the Fever on April 17. During the press conference, he began a question by giving Clark her patented heart gesture. When Clark asked if Doyel liked her well-known hand signal, Doyel replied with "Start doing it with me and we'll get along just fine," which led to an uncomfortable look by Clark.
Reporter: 🫶
Caitlin Clark: "You like that?"
Reporter: "I like that you're here."
Caitlin: "Yeah, I do that at my family after every game.”
Reporter: "Start doing it to me and we'll get along just fine."
Doyel was widely criticized in the media for his strange encounter with Clark, so it should come as no surprise that he has been disciplined for his antics.
Caitlin Clark didn't disappoint in her WNBA debut on Friday night, a 79–76 preseason loss for the Indiana Fever at the hands of the Dallas Wings at College Park Center in Arlington, TX.
Clark, playing professional basketball for the first time, looked right at home, scoring a team-high 21 points while draining five three-pointers in 28 minutes of action.
The Iowa product also provided a highlight reel moment in the first quarter, as she lost Wings defender Jacy Sheldon on the dribble—perhaps due to some contact by Clark—resulting in Sheldon falling to the floor as a photographer with impeccable timing snapped the picture. The Fever posted the epic photo onto X, formerly Twitter, and WNBA fans absolutely loved it.
Kudos to Gregory Shamus of Getty Images for getting the perfect photo. Clark went on to drain the three-pointer, to the delight of the sold-out crowd at the College Park Center.
Clark will next take the court for her home debut against the Atlanta Dream at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on Thursday night after the contest was rescheduled to avoid conflict with the Indiana Pacers' playoff game.
Caitlin Clark put all doubts about her game translating to the WNBA level to rest in the first few minutes of her preseason debut with the Indiana Fever.
Clark, the No. 1 pick by the Fever in the 2024 WNBA draft, started Friday's preseason opener against the Dallas Wings. It took Clark just 54 seconds to drill her first (unofficial) WNBA three-pointer. And in classic Clark fashion, it was from way deep—28 feet, nearly six feet beyond the WNBA three-point line and four feet past the NBA line.
By the end of the first quarter, Clark had nailed a trio of three-pointers and tallied a game-high 11 points. The Fever, however, trailed Dallas 26–23 after 10 minutes of play.
After Friday's contest wraps up, Clark and the Fever will finish off the two-game preseason schedule Thursday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Clark will make her WNBA regular-season debut May 14 against the Connecticut Sun.
Caitlin Clark-mania will take over Indiana a day sooner than fans of the WNBA rookie expected.
The Indiana Fever's first home preseason game of the 2024 season—Clark's debut in front of Indiana fans in the WNBA—originally scheduled for Friday, May 10 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, has been moved up to Thursday due to a conflict with the Indiana Pacers, who will be hosting Game 3 of the Eastern conference semifinals against the New York Knicks that night.
"Due to the Pacers home playoff schedule for the Eastern Conference Semifinals, the Fever preseason game originally scheduled for Friday, May 10, has been moved to Thursday, May 9, 7 p.m. at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Tickets for Friday's game will be valid for Thursday's rescheduled date. The game will also be shown on the WNBA app," the team said in a statement posted onto its account on X, formerly Twitter.
The Pacers' win over the Milwaukee Bucks, as well as the Knicks' victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday, led to the scheduling conflict at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, the shared home of the Pacers and the Fever.
Clark, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 WNBA draft, is slated to make her professional basketball debut on Friday night against the Dallas Wings at 8 p.m. ET. The West Des Moines, Ia. native's regular season debut is scheduled for May 14 against the Connecticut Sun at 7:30 p.m. ET.
