All it takes is one.
One shot, one bucket, one punch to change an athlete’s career. To give life to a rivalry that will outlive them. To transform the sport forever.
Angel Reese’s moment came in front of 10 million people during the 2023 NCAA women’s basketball title game when her LSU squad downed Caitlin Clark’s Iowa team.
“My life literally just changed from that game,” Reese told WSJ Magazine in a recent interview.
The iconic photo from Reese’s interaction with Clark during the 2023 title game.On April 2, 2023, Reese’s Tigers triumphed, 102-85, against Clark’s Hawkeyes
Reese was crowned the tournament MVP and LSU won its first women’s national title
But the defining moment, the defining image, came just before the game clock ticked to zero.
Reese, in front of Clark, pointed to the finger where her championship ring would sit.
Angel Reese and LSU beat Iowa and Caitlin Clark for the title.USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Con
“It’s just a full-circle moment of how women are viewed when it comes to trash-talking. It’s OK in men’s sports. We’re going to normalize that in women’s sports as well. So it’s just super-competitive. I think we’re two great competitors,” Reese said.
The jab and the photo live on in fame. Or infamy. Or a combination of the two.
Pundits, so-called insiders and troves of social media users extrapolated the barb in the days, weeks, months and year since the championship game. The discourse was often ensnared with racial and political divisiveness, even though Clark herself chalked it up to — very simply — being part of the game.
Reese and Clark’s rivalry has extended to the pros.AP
Just one year into their nascent WNBA careers, the Clark-Reese rivalry is one of the hottest storylines in women’s basketball and women’s sports.
Headlines continue to pour in, notwithstanding the fact that Clark’s historic inaugural season with the Indiana Fever ended weeks ago in the second round of the 2024 WNBA playoffs.
Reese’s rookie season ended due to wrist injury in early September.
Caitlin Clark won WNBA Rookie of the Year.Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports
Though the WNBA finals rolls forward without Reese or Clark, there’s little doubt that the league and the sport are better off with — and because of — their involvement.
Records are being set and reset, not just on the court, but also in the terms of television ratings and attendance.
As Reese said to The WSJ: “We brought a lot of fans to this league, and I think we’re going to continue to do that. And one day, hopefully, we’ll be teammates.”
Their careers are young. The rivalry is young. The rest is still unwritten.
