The Indiana Fever and Chicago Sky have revamped their rosters, featuring new players like DeWanna Bonner (Fever), Natasha Howard (Fever), Brianna Turner (Fever), Sophie Cunningham (Fever), Hailey Van Lith (Sky), and Courtney Vandersloot (Sky), among others. Nonetheless, the key element of the rivalry remains unchanged.
Caitlin Clark of the Fever and Angel Reese of the Sky initially competed against each other in AAU, and both are now thriving in the WNBA. Clark earned the Rookie of the Year title last season after breaking the single-season record with 337 assists, in addition to becoming the first rookie to record a triple-double. In contrast, Reese achieved a WNBA record with an average of 13.1 rebounds per game, while both athletes were named to the All-Star and All-Rookie teams.
The NBA recognized Reese on social media before the Sky’s game against the Fever on Saturday.
“Angel Reese is in the building for the season opener,” it wrote with a fire emoji.
NBA original message “sky vs fever”
This was a retweet of the WNBA’s original message, which stated, “She’s back and she’s ever so fly Angel Reese takes the court for Year 2 TODAY at 3 pm/ET vs. the Indiana Fever [on] ABC.”
Clark and Reese’s initial matchup was as part of the AAU teams All Iowa Attack and Team Takeover, respectively. Reese’s squad, Team Takeover, triumphed over All Iowa with a score of 57-47 in 2019, impressively contributing 18 points and 11 rebounds. She maintained her winning streak through college, defeating Clark’s Iowa teams three times with Maryland, featuring a significant 104-84 victory in the 2021 Big Ten Tournament championship.
Reese later transferred to LSU, leading the team to their inaugural national championship by overcoming Clark and Iowa 102-85 in the 2023 NCAA Tournament final. The 6-foot-3 forward was awarded the competition’s Most Outstanding Player.
However, the Hawkeyes avenged their previous losses in the Elite Eight the following season, with Clark scoring 41 points and providing 12 assists in the 94-87 victory. Moreover, Clark finished with a 2-1 record against Reese in their head-to-head encounters during the last WNBA season.