With the rise of AAU circuits and travel teams in youth basketball, players who become rivals in college or the professional ranks had often teamed up on the youth circuit. For example, Zion Williamson and Ja Morant were AAU teammates in South Carolina before becoming the first and second overall picks in the 2019 NBA Draft.
However, rivals being teammates at any point in their careers used to be rare. Magic Johnson and Larry Bird grew up in neighboring states and were in the same NBA rookie class, but they never crossed paths as teammates as youths, in college or in the NBA, including All-Star Games. It wasn’t until the 1992 Summer Olympics and the Dream Team that they shared the court as teammates, some 13 years after they first faced off in the 1979 NCAA Championship Game.
Fortunately, women’s basketball fans won’t have to wait 13 years for WNBA players Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese to share jerseys of the same color. The two rookies will be a part of Team WNBA at the 2024 WNBA All-Star Game, marking the first time they share a court as teammates. That was Clark’s first thought when she was asked what it would be like teaming up with Reese after facing off against her in several memorable games in both college and in the pros.
Clark and Reese are not just the only rookies to make the 2024 WNBA All-Star Game, but they will be the only of the 24 competitors who will be playing in their first All-Star Games. It marks the first time since 2014 that two rookies will compete in the exhibition contest, and Clark is relishing the moment, as there’s no guarantee that she’ll be back again.
“Obviously, this is something that’s really hard to accomplish,” Clark stated. “So, the best we can celebrate all of [the All-Stars] will be great and just gonna obviously soak in the experience cause, you never know if you’re ever gonna be able to get back there and it'll be fun for all of us.”
The rivalry between Clark and Reese is well-documented by now, and the two are in a race to win the WNBA Rookie of the Year award. Clark, who won WNBA Rookie of the Month for May, leads all first-year players in both points and assists, while Reese, who won WNBA Rookie of the Month for June, leads the 2024 draft class in rebounds and steals. She is on pace to set the all-time WNBA record for most rebounds by a rookie, while Clark is on pace to set the league record for most made three-pointers by a rookie.
The two have matched up three times this season, with Clark’s Fever beating Reese’s Sky twice. Their last meeting on June 23 was the most-watched WNBA game in 23 years. It topped their previous matchup on June 16, which was then the most-watched WNBA telecast in 23 years.
Prior to them joining the WNBA, Clark’s Iowa Hawkeyes faced off against Reese’s LSU Tigers in the NCAA Tournament in both 2023 and 2024. Reese and LSU prevailed in a National Championship contest in 2023, before Clark and Iowa got revenge by taking an Elite Eight matchup in April of this year’s tournament.
But many don’t realize they squared off three times before any of those March Madness games, when Reese played for the Maryland Terrapins. The Terps defeated the Hawkeyes in their one meeting in the 2021-22 season, after beating Iowa twice during the 2020-21 season. So after eight games of going against one another–with Reese’s teams holding a five-to-three edge–the two will finally share the same locker room, same huddle and same jersey when the 2024 WNBA All-Star Game takes place on Saturday, July 20.
