Angel Reese insists she has no “hard feelings” towards Caitlin Clark despite their intense rivalry on the court.

Reese and Clark have shared numerous great battles in their young careers, starting at the collegiate level with LSU and Iowa respectively. Their duels continued in their WNBA rookie season in 2024, with Clark shading Chicago Sky star Reese to the Rookie of the Year crown after a record-breaking season with the Indiana Fever.

Reese, 22, got the better of her rival in their early meetings, winning four straight with LSU against Iowa, including the championship game of the 2023 NCAA Tournament. But Clark has fought back strongly, winning four of the past five meetings in college and the pros, including the Elite Eight showdown earlier this year.

But speaking at ComplexCon this week, Reese said she has nothing but respect for Clark and any perceived bad blood between the pair has been manufactured by fans.

“I don’t think it’s just her fans, I think it’s fans in general,” Reese said. “People don’t realize at the end of the day, we’re human. You guys watch us. Knowing that, it’s just basketball. I promise you, it’s just basketball. I don’t have any hard feelings towards her. She doesn’t have any hard feelings towards me, but yeah, it gets crazy sometimes.”

Angel Reese insists she has no bad blood with Caitlin Clark

Angel Reese insists she has no bad blood with Caitlin Clark ( 

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No. 7 overall pick Reese made a stellar start to here WNBA career this year, averaging 13 points and 13 rebounds per game. But it was not enough to earn the Rookie of the Year prize, with Clark putting up 19 points, five rebounds and eight assists a night during her debut campaign with the Fever.

Reese admitted it has been difficult to be pitted as Clark’s supposed enemy by fans of both players on social media, but she believes that the battles between the players have been hugely beneficial in growing interest in women’s basketball.

“I think it’s just competition. It’s been a competition since college. Being able to play against Caitlin, who I’ve been playing against since we were probably in eighth or ninth grade. We both were really competitive,” she said.

“Obviously social media is going to put two women against each other, and I think it’s just been able to be something that is negative but also positive. I think it shines light on women’s basketball so I’ll take that as being able to be the person that gets the hate, but I know that at the end of the day I’m growing women’s basketball and helping women’s basketball.”