Some fans are taking it personally.
Angel Reese on her latest episodean angel who never gives up” podcast, I was reminded of one person in particular who didn’t want to wait in line for autographs.
“Sometimes you're so busy that you can't sign everything. One guy said, 'That's why you're not Rookie of the Year.' And that white girl is better than me,” Reese said.
The Chicago Sky star was perplexed.
“I'm like, 'Okay, you wanted me to sign your stuff and you don't like me anymore?' People are so angry,” she said. Ta.
That “white girl” is Rookie of the Year winner Caitlin Clark, one of the few female athletes on the planet who may be asked for more autographs than Reese.
Reese would know.
“Me and Caitlin have been competing since we were kids,” she said. told the Wall Street Journal In a recent story about herself and three-time WNBA MVP A'ja Wilson.
Reese and Clark's college rivalry (the former with LSU and the latter with the University of Iowa) garnered national attention and culminated in back-to-back NCAA Tournament matchups.
LSU defeated Iowa State 102-85 to win the first national championship in program history in 2023.
A year later in the Elite Eight, Clark finished Reese's season by dropping 41 points. Iowa State once again reached the championship game, but lost to the South Carolina Gamecocks.
During his first season in the WNBA, Clark set the WNBA single-season assist record and rookie scoring record. She also convincingly defeated Reese in Rookie of the Year voting.
Clark, the Fever's No. 1 overall pick, received 66 of voters' 67 first-place votes.
Despite missing the final regular-season game with a wrist injury in early September, Reese thwarted her request for a unanimous decision and received the first-place vote from her only opponent.
