Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese open the WNBA season against one another on Saturday in a rivalry clash between the Indiana Fever and Chicago Sky.
Dating back to their college days, Clark and Reese have had fierce battles. They're two of the most popular women's basketball players on the planet, and they have very different play styles that cause many fans to pick a side.
One WNBA great is hoping that Saturday's game will focus simply on the court and not on outside narratives.
“I mean, I’m all about a rivalry,” Courtney Vandersloot told the Chicago Sun-Times. “And what a great situation; we’re three and a half hours away, two Midwest teams. Like, yes, absolutely, but make it about hoop. That’s it. That’s all it should be about. Two incredible players that came from college happen to be in it — I love it, the storyline is there — but it should be about nothing other than the court stuff.”
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Vandersloot is new to the Sky. She joined Chicago after winning the 2024 WNBA title with the New York Liberty.
“I don’t know the extent of it, but from what I’ve heard, yeah, it got bad,” Vandersloot said. “So let’s keep it about basketball. Let’s embrace that.”
Vandersloot respects the heck out of Clark's game. The 15th-season point guard has 2,850 career assists and is likely on her way to breaking Sue Bird's record.
As a rookie, Clark set the single-season first-year record with 337 assists.
On Saturday, they'll face off in what should be an awesome basketball game. Vandersloot just asks to keep the focus on how special the on-court action is.
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