WNBA All-Star Declares Firm Stance on Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese 'Rivalry'
Dallas Wings star guard Arike Ogunbowale is one the WNBA's most elite scorers.
She proved this once again during the 2024 WNBA All-Star Game, when she scored an insane 34 points — all of which came in the second half.
This gave Ogunbowale (who is a four-time All-Star and two-time All-Star Game MVP) the WNBA All-Star Game records for most points in a quarter (21), half (34), and game (34).
Arike's extraordinary performance in Phoenix that evening came while she was playing for Team WNBA alongside rookie sensations Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese.
Being teammates with these two global icons for a weekend gave Ogunbowale a rare glimpse into the dynamic between them.
While most members of the women's basketball community believe that Reese and Clark have a rivalry with one another (which stems from their time playing against each other in college), Ogunbowale revealed why she doesn't believe this is the case in a recent interview with Sports Seriously.
"I do think the Angel, Caitlin thing is funny," Ogunbowale said, per Sports Seriously's TikTok. "Like, it's just funny to me because they're two totally different positions. And the media tries to make them be competitors.
"But [Clark is] a guard, and [Reese is] a post. So at the end of the day, they don't even guarded each other. So it's not really a rivalry. But it's just funny how people hype it up," Ogunbowale added.
She then concluded by saying, "But I know both of them, and they both have respect for each other. So it's mostly the media, that's really how it goes."
Arike Ogunbowale spoke on the Angel Reese vs. Caitlin Clark "rivalry" 👀 pic.twitter.com/jCFgcbecXg
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) August 28, 2024
The Wings superstar clearly isn't a fan of media pitting Clark and Reese against one another.
While Ogunbowale might be right in asserting that the two rookies have respect for each other, her words likely won't make people stop believing there's also a fierce rivalry between them.
GRANT YOUNG
Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.