{"id":944570,"date":"2026-10-24T14:06:15","date_gmt":"2026-10-24T14:06:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/944570\/"},"modified":"2026-10-24T14:06:15","modified_gmt":"2026-10-24T14:06:15","slug":"if-angel-reese-wins-the-wnba-finals-mvp-all-hell-will-break-loose","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/944570\/","title":{"rendered":"If Angel Reese Wins the WNBA Finals MVP, All Hell Will Break Loose"},"content":{"rendered":"

As of this writing, the Atlanta Dream lead the Golden State Valkyries 2\u20131 in a best-of-seven series. Angel Reese has recorded a double-double in all three games, and it\u2019s easy to see that if Atlanta wins the Finals, Angel Reese is the likely MVP. Imagine if Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark won both the title and the MVP? Clark would be feted, Fox News would play highlights on the hour, and every player on her teal would be asked how wonderful<\/p>\n

it was to play with Caitlin Clark. Her image would become the WNBA logo, and her face would soon be on currency.<\/p>\n

\"\"Mungo KitschFile:Original Barnstar Hires.png by Antonu.WNBA logo, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/4.0<\/a>>, via Wikimedia Commons<\/p>\n

The problem with Caitlin Clark being the face of the league isn\u2019t that she isn\u2019t a great player. Caitlin Clark\u2019s early WNBA career has been defined by an almost unprecedented blend of statistical dominance, cultural impact, and rapid ascension into the league\u2019s elite. As the \u21161 pick of the Indiana Fever in 2024, she immediately validated the hype, delivering a rookie season that rewrote the record book. Clark set the WNBA rookie single\u2011season scoring record, scoring 769 points, averaging 19.2 points per game, and shattering the rookie three-point record with 122 makes\u2014 the second\u2011most in any WNBA season ever.<\/p>\n

She also became the league\u2019s premier playmaker, leading the WNBA with 8.4 assists per game and breaking the single\u2011season assists record with 337, including a single\u2011game record 19 assists against Dallas. Her rookie year produced the first triple\u2011double ever by a WNBA rookie, the first in Fever history, and ultimately earned her 2024 Rookie of the Year, All\u2011WNBA First Team, and All\u2011Star starter honors. The problem is that Clark has never won a title since her freshman year at Dowling Catholic High School, where she was a major contributor but not the star. Clark has never won an NCAA Title or a WNBA championship.<\/p>\n

\"\"JazzyJoeyD, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/4.0<\/a>>, via Wikimedia Commons<\/p>\n

Angel Reese also won a high school championship. In fact, she won four of them at St. Francis Academy in Baltimore. Her IAAM-A Conference titles are the top championships available within Maryland\u2019s private\u2011school athletic system, and St. Frances is one of the nation\u2019s powerhouse programs. Reese was a double\u2011double machine even as a teenager, finishing her high\u2011school career with 1,720 points and 1,250 rebounds, second\u2011most in school history.<\/p>\n

Angel Reese\u2019s collegiate career at LSU is one of the most impactful and decorated runs in modern women\u2019s basketball, defined by elite production, postseason dominance, and a national championship that reshaped the program\u2019s identity. After transferring from Maryland, Reese became the centerpiece of Kim Mulkey\u2019s system, delivering a breakout 2022\u201323 season that turned LSU into a title contender overnight. She averaged 23 points and 15 rebounds per game, set the SEC record for double\u2011doubles, and became the first LSU player to record a double\u2011double in every regular\u2011season game. Her postseason run was even more commanding: Reese powered LSU through the NCAA Tournament with a combination of interior scoring, relentless rebounding, and defensive versatility, culminating in a historic performance in the 2023 national championship game, where she posted 15 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 steals to secure LSU\u2019s first women\u2019s basketball title.<\/p>\n

Her impact extended beyond the box score. Reese became a cultural force \u2014 elevating LSU\u2019s visibility, driving record viewership, and helping usher in a new era of personality\u2011driven women\u2019s basketball. She followed her championship season with another All\u2011America campaign in 2024, leading LSU back to the Elite Eight and cementing her status as one of the most influential players of her generation. Reese\u2019s LSU tenure is remembered not only for the championship banner she delivered, but for the swagger, competitiveness, and national attention she brought to the program.<\/p>\n

\"\"Bryan Berlin, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/4.0<\/a>>, via Wikimedia Commons<\/p>\n

Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese have become two of the most recognizable figures in women\u2019s basketball, their careers intertwined by competition, controversy, and a rivalry often exaggerated into a personal feud. Their paths first converged in college basketball, where Clark emerged as Iowa\u2019s record-breaking scorer, celebrated for her extraordinary long-range shooting and playmaking. At the same time, Reese became a dominant forward at Louisiana State University, known for her rebounding, physical play, and relentless pursuit of victories.<\/p>\n

Their rivalry reached its defining moment in April 2023, when Reese\u2019s LSU Tigers defeated Clark\u2019s Iowa Hawkeyes 102\u201385 to win the NCAA women\u2019s national championship. Reese\u2019s celebratory gestures toward Clark in the closing moments became a national talking point, transforming a championship victory into a cultural controversy. The reaction revealed a striking difference in how the two players were perceived: Clark\u2019s competitive swagger had often been celebrated, while Reese faced criticism for displaying a similar intensity.<\/p>\n

That contrast helped propel the players beyond the basketball court and into a broader debate about race, gender, sportsmanship, and the treatment of Black women athletes. When Clark and Reese entered the WNBA in 2024, Clark joined the Indiana Fever as the first overall pick, and Reese went to the Chicago Sky at \u21167, their every encounter drew enormous attention. Their matchups became must-see events, and media and social media audiences often framed them as opposing symbols, encouraging fans to choose sides even though the players had little interest in sustaining that narrative.<\/p>\n

Both women have acknowledged their fierce competitiveness while rejecting the suggestion that they harbor personal animosity. Before their 2024 NCAA Tournament rematch, Reese explicitly said that she and Clark did not hate each other, explaining that trash talk was part of competing and that they could get along after the game. Clark similarly emphasized their shared desire to win.<\/p>\n

\"\"John Mac, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/2.0<\/a>>, via Wikimedia Commons<\/p>\n

Their relationship was clearest in 2026, when they played together for Team USA at the FIBA Women\u2019s Basketball World Cup. Instead of confronting each other as opponents, they combined their complementary skills, with Clark setting up Reese for baskets and Reese returning the favor. Clark praised Reese\u2019s competitiveness, while Reese said they understood each other\u2019s games well.<\/p>\n

Their story is therefore less about two athletes who dislike each other than about two extraordinary competitors whose careers have been linked by the public\u2019s appetite for conflict. They play different positions, bring different strengths to the game, and have developed distinct public personas, but both have helped expand the audience for women\u2019s basketball. The irony is that a rivalry often portrayed as personal hostility has made both women more prominent, even as their words and actions repeatedly show mutual respect.<\/p>\n

Their careers intersect not because they are enemies, but because they arrived at the center of women\u2019s basketball at the same moment, challenged the sport\u2019s traditional limits on popularity and visibility, and became subjects of a rivalry that the public has often been more invested in than either player.<\/p>\n

Reese and the Atlanta Dream are two wins from winning the WNBA title. Clark and the Indiana Fever reached the postseason but were eliminated in the first round of the 2026 WNBA playoffs, ending their run before the semifinals. If Reese wins, she will have accumulated four High School Championships, an NCAA Championship, and a WNBA title. You\u2019d think there would be no question about her greatness, yet some will feel it should have been Clark, who was somehow cheated.<\/p>\n

If Angel Reese wins the title and MVP, some will turn away, criticizing her shooting or aggressive play. You\u2019ll hear multiple reasons why she didn\u2019t deserve the success she keeps having. They\u2019ll mostly be mad it wasn\u2019t Clark, or at least Sophie Cunningham. I won\u2019t blame the criticism on race, but you know. Larry Bird and Magic Johnson were allowed to be collegiate rivals and NBA stars who each won multiple titles and were members of the Dream Team. I wish no less for Clark and Reese.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As of this writing, the Atlanta Dream lead the Golden State Valkyries 2\u20131 in a best-of-seven series. Angel…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":944571,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[629],"tags":[724,49,735,48,42880,323368,82,630],"class_list":["post-944570","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wnba","tag-angel-reese","tag-ca","tag-caitlin-clark","tag-canada","tag-pop-culture","tag-race-politics","tag-sports","tag-wnba"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/944570","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=944570"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/944570\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/944571"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=944570"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=944570"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=944570"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}