Angel Reese mocked Caitlin Clark for flopping during their game this week, and the clip went everywhere in about 11 minutes flat.
It happened in the third quarter of Sky-Fever. Clark drew contact on a drive, sold the call hard with an exaggerated fall, and Reese made sure everyone saw her reaction. She mimed the flop, threw her head back, and then walked back to the bench giving the crowd a smirk. Cameras caught all of it.
This is what the rivalry has become. It started in college, and it hasn’t slowed down a single day since they both turned pro. Every Sky-Fever game is a national broadcast now, and every interaction between Reese and Clark is dissected frame by frame.
Whether the flop call was actually a flop is debatable. Clark gets hit hard, often, and the league has been talking for two years about whether she’s getting the proper foul calls. Reese clearly thinks she gets too many. A lot of WNBA defenders agree with Reese on that point, even if they’re not saying it on camera.
What’s undeniable is that this rivalry sells. The arena was sold out. Ratings for Sky-Fever broadcasts are running double what they were before either player joined the league. Both teams are getting national afternoon windows that simply did not exist for the WNBA five years ago.
Clark didn’t bite on the bait postgame. She handled the question with a flat “I just play the game” answer and moved on. That was probably the smarter media play, because the moment she engages, it becomes a multi-day cycle.
Reese is happy to keep talking. She has built her brand around being unapologetic and confrontational, and the flop mockery fits the persona. Her Instagram engagement on the highlight clip was off the charts within an hour.
The league office is in a weird spot here. The WNBA has never had this much attention before, and most of it is being driven by two players who openly do not like each other. Officially, Cathy Engelbert wants the rivalry to be respectful and professional. Unofficially, the league is absolutely cashing the checks this beef is generating.
There’s a flagrant-foul moment from last year that still hangs over every Reese-Clark matchup. Reese fouled Clark hard, the league reviewed it, and tensions have been simmering since. Every game between these two is essentially a referendum on whether the WNBA is willing to actually police the contact directed at Clark.
Reese’s mockery isn’t going to get her suspended. It probably won’t even draw a fine. What it will do is keep the rivalry pinned at the top of the sports news cycle for another full week.
Clark and the Fever get the rematch in a few weeks. Reese has already told reporters she’s looking forward to it. Buckle in.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
