Fans of Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark often engage in wars of words online, but they were stunned by one of Reese's wholesome acts involving Clark during Team USA's final FIBA World Cup qualifier match on March 17.

Clark ended up on the floor after suffering a tackle from Spain's defenders amid her quest for a 2-pointer. As the Team USA No. 12 argued with the referees for a foul, Reese became the first player to offer her a helping hand to get up, which Clark accepted with grace.

While an X update from Bleacher Report highlighted this incident, it also displayed how Clark passed the ball directly to Reese to resume play, which resulted in the Sky No. 5 scoring a 2-pointer, as the quarter-ending buzzer went off milliseconds later.

This moment went viral on social media, especially after Team USA's March 13 game against host nation Puerto Rico, where fans believed Clark allegedly snubbed Reese's handshake while coming onto the hardwood.

While some argued that the Fever star did not see Reese's handshake attempt, which further sparked online adversity. However, the aforementioned scenes on March 17 made it clear that they maintain an amicable relationship, especially while sporting the national jersey.

Despite the scoreline suggesting a close contest of 84-70, Team USA had the last laugh, which got fans enthralled. However, the two incidents displaying the Reese-Clark bonding on the court also garnered a lot of reactions from the fanbase, given their unexpectedness.

How Did Fans React to the Display of Camaraderie Between Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark?

Fans online, for the most part, were delighted to see the latest Clark–Reese interaction end on a positive note. Many also expressed that their rivalry is exaggerated by the media, and that the duo's in-game chemistry would do wonders if they were WNBA teammates.

"They'll say it's AI," one user commented, as fans are used to stories of Reese and Clark being rivals. Another one said, "Someone pointed out they’d actually make perfect teammates, but this app would explode."

A fan highlighted how most have gotten used to watching Clark and Reese as rivals, saying, "People also won’t like the fact that they are actually perfect teammates for each other," while a second one held the "media" responsible for this. He said, "Swear the media is a bigger issue than anything they’ve ever done."

"The tension is still there," a different user penned, thinking that there's still some fire of rivalry left between these two below the bonding.

So, after watching and learning all this, do you think that Clark and Reese actually have no hard feelings against each other, or were they just being professionals over their personal views since they were donning the same jersey?

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Written by

Joy Bassy

Edited by

Souvik Roy