From rivals to teammates, Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark make All-Star debuts together

PHOENIX — The Footprint Center was quiet Friday afternoon, less than 24 hours before a sellout crowd would begin filling the seats. Nothing too serious was happening, only a team of WNBA All-Stars practicing.

But in the split-second it took for a rookie forward to receive a pass from a rookie guard as she rolled to the basket off a screen, an image was painted. As it came into focus, the few fans in attendance cheered.

The sequence was a little pick-and-roll action between the Sky’s Angel Reese and the Fever’s Caitlin Clark, the only rookies from the 2024 draft class who were named All-Stars.

For the first time in their careers Saturday in the All-Star Game, they shared the court as teammates, not as bitter rivals.

‘‘I know y’all have been seeing the shirts, the ‘Get Along’ shirts,’’ Reese joked when she was asked how she thought fans would react to seeing the first ball-screen action between the rookies. ‘‘Everybody is going to come together and get along — finally. I’m excited. It’s good for the game. I know a lot of people are out here to come support both of us. Being able to see that for women’s basketball is amazing.’’

It’s no secret that Reese’s and Clark’s fan bases are divided. A quick trip to social media paints a picture that there is no love lost among their supporters. But as Reese and Clark took the court as teammates Saturday against Team USA, the sides were able to come together ‘‘for one day,’’ Reese teased.

Reese first picked up a basketball at 4. Her mother, also Angel, introduced her to the game. Earning an All-Star nod as a rookie was never on Reese’s list of goals. But nearly three weeks after she achieved it and hours before her All-Star debut, Reese looked right at home with her Team WNBA teammates.

‘‘I felt loved as soon as I walked in,’’ Reese said. ‘‘Being able to see all the women here is really cool. They’ve always loved me from the beginning, so it doesn’t feel like I’m brand new around here.’’

Reese and Clark separated themselves in the first half of the season as the leading candidates in the Rookie of the Year race. For every record-breaking assist game from Clark, Reese had an answer by cleaning up on the glass.
Reese’s 15 consecutive double-doubles broke the WNBA record previously held by Candace Parker (12 over the course of two seasons). Her 17 total double-doubles are five shy of breaking the rookie record for the most in a season set by Tina Charles in 2010.

Clark, meanwhile, closed the first half with 19 assists against the Wings to set a WNBA single-game record. Less than two weeks before, she became the first rookie in WNBA history with a triple-double.

The second half of the season, which begins Aug. 15 after a nearly monthlong hiatus for the Olympic break, is sure to feature more dominant performances from Reese and Clark, both of whom want to lead their down-and-out franchises back to championship contention. As the Rookie of the Year race heats up, so will the rivalry.

For one night in the desert, however, everybody got along.