NBA: Golden State Warriors at Phoenix Suns - Source: Imagn

Caitlin Clark makes feelings clear on relationship with Angel Reese- Source: Imagn

Caitlin Clark is on top of the world right now. She was recently named TIME’s Athlete of the Year, and given her meteoric rise and impact on women’s basketball, it’s hard to disagree with that statement.

Ever since her days at Iowa, Clark was instrumental in bringing attention to the women’s game, and that became all the more evident once she took her talents to the Indiana Fever.

However, as great as she is, her career has also been tainted by some controversies. She’s been put in one corner against LSU and Chicago Sky star Angel Reese, with some people even giving this so-called rivalry a racial undertone. Still, as much as the media has portrayed them as rivals, she doesn’t see it that way.

“I don’t get that at all,” Clark told TIME. “We’re not best friends, by any means, but we’re very respectful of one another. Yes, we have had tremendous battles. But when have I ever guarded her? And when has she guarded me?”

“I didn’t think it was taunting,” she continued. “It really didn’t bother me. It’s just like, ‘Why don’t you talk about them winning? Or the incredible run that we went on that nobody would have thought we would have ever gone on?’ The only thing people cared about was this controversy that was really fabricated and made up, and then that has continued to be the case ever since.”

Angel Reese echoed similar feeling on feud rumors with Cailtin Clark

Notably, Reese recently shared some similar feelings about this so-called feud. It’s all in the heat of the battle and nothing more:

“I think it’s just competition, it’s been competition since college,” Reese told Complex on November 29. “Being able to play against Caitlin, I’ve been playing against Caitlin since we were probably in eighth or ninth grade. We both were really competitive in AAU. I went to Maryland, she went to Iowa so we competed there and then finally being able to compete in the national championship. People don’t know the legacy of us being able to play against each other for a really long time.”

Some have compared this with the Larry Bird-Magic Johnson rivalry in the 80s. Hopefully, it will have a similar impact on the WNBA, as some historians believe that rivalry actually saved the NBA.

Other than that, there’s no reason to pick sides. We can enjoy watching both of them play and take the league to new heights.