“The W is more than 1 player,” Cheryl Reeve tweeted on May 3. It was early preseason and Caitlin Clark had been heavily featured on the WNBA social media channels. It just so happened that that night was also when the Minnesota Lynx was playing the Chicago Sky, which was the first W game for another rookie, Angel Reese. Somehow, the narrative around that tweet became that Reeve did not like CC. But the Lynx coach is clearing things up.

In a recent appearance on Good Game With Sarah Spain, Reeve talked about how she was surprised at the W fanbase misconstruing her tweet as criticism directed at the Fever rookie. But she then explained, “Indiana Dallas being televised, I didn’t care about that. I didn’t care that we weren’t being televised. Those are business decisions. I do care when I’m gonna protect my team. One, when you don’t even mention the game.”

Reeve further pointed out that while CC got the attention in that fan poster from the W, the Lynx vs. Sky game had another high-profile rookie. “And by the way, you’re not interested in the Minnesota Lynx. Angel Reese was playing her first WNBA game, right? So the fact that you don’t even mention it, all I was doing was assisting our fans, ‘Oh hey! Don’t forget we’re playing! And here’s where you can find it.'” However, that’s not the end to the reported animosity between the two.

When a fan had replied to Reeve’s “W” comment asking why Reese’s game was n0t being televised, one fan commented, “Because they only care about Caitlin”, to which Reeve had replied, “That part”. 

Having said that, indeed, fans had been miffed about missing Reese in action because the preseason game was not being televised. A fan live-streamed the game on their phone with grainy quality instead, which ultimately received more than 2 million views, as Spain pointed out on the podcast. Nevertheless, Cheryl Reeve also referred to another incident that might have led some to believe that she was not pro-Caitlin Clark.

Reeve had apparently photoshopped Napheesa Collier onto a poster promoting the W that was originally missing the Lynx forward. “And so I photoshopped Phee in and I said, ‘Here fans, I’ve fixed it,'” she laughed narrating the incident on Good Game With Sarah Spain.

“Some Caitlin Clark fans grabbed a hold of that to say that I was anti-Caitlin Clark,” the Lynx HC says, but then she clarifies, “I’m a huge Caitlin Clark fan. Not when we’re playing against her, of course. But like I said, she’s a future Hall of Famer. Everybody can see that.”

Another instance that could have led some to believe that Reeve was not a fan of CC could be leaving her off the Paris Olympics roster. But the Team USA coach had not been part of the panel that chose those players, and as she said on the podcast, Reeve has long been supporting the Indiana Fever rookie.

“No one is a sure thing other than Caitlin Clark”: Cheryl Reeve

This year’s rookie class was one to behold, but when asked to choose between two rivals, Cheryl Reeve seemed slightly more in favor of Caitlin Clark. Talking to MinnPost after the draft, the Lynx HC said, “Angel certainly had a lot to offer. She’s going to defend, she’s going to rebound, she’s going to (get offensive rebounds). I think she’s a great passer. She has some very strong qualities as a pro.”

But then, “We just kind of looked at our situation. No one is a sure thing other than Caitlin Clark, like a sure thing sure thing? Time will tell. We all get really smart when we have the hindsight.” Indeed, Clark has pulled away from Reese in the Rookie of the Year conversation and was even named the ROTY by the Associated Press.

Reeve even commented on her impressive threes in a pregame talk with the press last month, but clarified that pace and passing are what make the Indiana Fever guard great. While the WNBA is largely expected to pick her as the ROTY, Caitlin Clark fans might need some more surety from Cheryl Reeve to believe her!