The rivalry between Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese is well documented, going back to their time at the college level. Unfortunately, that on-the-court rivalry has turned into a much larger and often toxic discourse, with fans and media alike making assumptions and projections about how the two players feel about each other personally. Clark wasn’t about to fuel that conversation after a gold-medal win.
Throughout the FIBA Women’s World Cup, Clark and Reese have thrived while playing together, with the two young stars both dishing a few nifty assists to one another. In fact, Reese has had perhaps the best offensive stretch of her career playing alongside Clark, as Reese has actually led the team in field goal percentage throughout the tournament, which is notable given her well-documented efficiency issues on the offensive side of the ball.
Given how the pair has shined during the World Cup run and their well-documented rivalry, Clark was asked about her relationship with Reese following the team’s win over France in the final.
The reporter asked if Clark and Reese “were friends now” after playing together throughout the tournament. Clark, however, was clearly not a fan of the question or the narrative that it seemingly fed as she quickly snapped at the reporter.
“We’ve always been friends,” Clark said.
“Don’t try to do that,” Clark said, wagging her finger at the reporter. “Don’t try to do that.”
After her interview ended, Clark actually walked back and chided the reporter while shaking her head.
Here’s the video of the scene, via BallInEurope:
Clark and Reese have both praised each other throughout the FIBA World Cup, and even posed together with the trophy after Sunday’s win.
Yeah, the kids are alright. 🏆 pic.twitter.com/4HB5BoPRx4
— USA Basketball (@usabasketball) September 13, 2026
“I mean, we’ve played against each other so many times. I’m sure we know each other’s game like the back of each other’s hand,” Reese said on Thursday. “I dish it off to her; she dishes it off to me. She knows my spots. I kinda got one to her today, or maybe two.”
“It’s fun,” Reese added. “We just continue to build chemistry because we know we’re going to be USA teammates for a while.”
“We’re both fiery, fiery competitors and we want to win and it’s one of the things I really admire about [Reese’s] game,” Clark told the Associated Press. “She’s competitive and she has a tremendous motor, like she has one of the best motors in the league. She works just as hard as anybody on the court. So, it’s been fun to be able to play with her.”
Clearly, Clark had no interest in feeding a narrative of any potential feud between the two players, at least on a personal level.
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