Started from college basketball, followed by the league — the Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese rivalry has now received the opinion from the star who has been there and done this: Los Angeles Lakers icon Magic Johnson. The opinions on the rivalry stand divided because of the preference of one player over the other. Meanwhile, Johnson has taken a completely different approach with his opinion of the entire matter.   

Rather than picking sides or favorites among the two, the 5x NBA champ has appreciated both the WNBA rookies. “They’re doing great things for the league… Caitlin’s been great. Angel’s been great,” he told TMZ Sports. Notably, both Reese and Clark became popular names from their college basketball days itself. And the WNBA was expecting both players to further the popularity of the league, just like March Madness.

However, the popularity of the former Iowa Hawkeyes star was comparatively higher, as it was Hawkeyes v South Carolina in the National Championship Final that recorded the highest viewership (nearly 19 million average viewers) for a women’s NCAA game. And Clark’s popularity in the WNBA is not going well with some seasoned WNBA stars, and seemingly Reese as well.

“And I know I’ll go down to history, I’ll look back in 20 years and be like… The reason why we watching women’s basketball is not because of one person. It’s because of me, too. And I want you to realize that,” Reese said in an interview. Though not completely wrong, this statement brought criticism against her for looking for credit against Clark’s popularity.

Analyzing Magic Johnson’s claim of both Reese and Clark contributing to the league

Though the fans speculate a prevailing rivalry between the two players, it is hard to deny that the updates where the two of them are involved, including their recent game against each other, draw significant attention. And although it’s too soon to compare, if this rivalry develops any further on the right path, it could do what the Magic Johnson and Larry Bird rivalry did for the NBA. 

Both Bird and Johnson were rivals in college basketball itself, and it continued as they landed on the Boston Celtics and LA Lakers, respectively. The situation is more or less similar for Reese and Clark in the present context. However, it’s essential that both the players emerge on top of the league through this initial face. It’s not just Clark, but Reese as well who has been getting tough competition from the league. 

While the Chicago Sky star went through Chennedy Carter’s hard foul incident, Reese was also slammed to the ground by Alyssa Thomas in their matchup. And Magic Johnson has appreciated the way both of them handled these situations, as stated by TMZ Sports. Though it’s a long way ahead, the league’s future seems to be on an upward road with these two WNBA rookies.

Stay tuned for more such updates, and to follow what Shaq’s ex-agent, Leonard Armato, has to say about the Reese-Clark rivalry and more, watch this video.