Caitlin Clark owes her popularity to Angel Reese. She owes gracing the cover of Time as 2024’s Athlete of the Year to Reese. She owes the record-breaking WNBA Draft numbers to Reese. She owes her viral rise, her spotlight, her myth to Angel Reese. These aren’t my words—they’re Joy Taylor’s. But now, Taylor’s claiming Clark’s fame all stems from that one moment with Reese. Is Taylor spitting facts—or just selling stories?
Taylor’s comments, delivered on the Joe Budden Network, came without hesitation. “I just said, we would not be talking about Caitlin Clark the way that we do if it wasn’t for that moment with Angel Reese and I will die on this.” She doubled down further, calling the Reese vs Clark season opener debacle “The Magic Johnson, Larry Bird moment for the WNBA.” In her words: “This is great. I’m a storyteller. I think storylines are so fucking important. I think you need villains. I think you need heroes. You need shit to sell. You got to sell a fight, like brand all of this.”
It wasn’t long ago that Taylor struck a very different tone. Just five days before her viral Reese-Clark take, she was championing Clark’s mental toughness and swagger on the show Speak, alongside Paul Pierce and Keyshawn Johnson. “Caitlin Clark should act exactly how she’s acting,” she said. “She better have some squabbles. I don’t say nothing crazy that I can’t back up. Not a single thing.”
Which raises the question: how do we reconcile Taylor’s praise for Clark’s grit with her later claim that Reese made her famous? Was the LSU-Iowa championship clash in 2023 truly the ignition switch for Clark’s superstardom?
“We would not be talking about Caitlin Clark the way that we do if it wasn’t for that moment with Angel Reese.”
(Via Joe Budden Network)
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) June 23, 2025
Yes, the numbers were massive. LSU vs. Iowa averaged 9.9 million viewers—then the third-most-watched women’s college game ever. And Reese’s taunts—the Cena “you can’t see me,” the ring finger point—drew fire and fuel for weeks. But to say that moment alone launched Clark is a stretch.
Because if that’s the standard, why didn’t Reese’s similar moment against Middle Tennessee’s Anastasiia Boldyreva generate the same heat? After waving goodbye and hyping up the crowd as Boldyreva fouled out, the Internet didn’t crown Anastasiia a cultural force. Boldyreva didn’t grace Time. Boldyreva didn’t surge on Google Trends.
Clark did. And it wasn’t in 2023. Her popularity peaked in April 2024—after dropping daggers on UConn in the Final Four and facing off against Dawn Staley’s South Carolina juggernaut in a must-see title game. That championship drew 18.7 million viewers. Her draft? 2.45 million tuned in—a 374% spike over the previous year, and the highest since 2000.
Clark’s WNBA debut for Indiana against Connecticut in May 2024 became the most-watched WNBA game on cable or network since 2002. That’s not just a rivalry effect. That’s a movement.
Then there’s the Iowa factor. Unlike LSU’s powerhouse roots and Hall of Fame coach Kim Mulkey, Iowa had history working against it. No championships. Just one Final Four appearance since 1993 before Clark arrived. She dragged them to back-to-back championship games.
Even Google knows the truth. Clark was searched more in April 2024 than any month before. Not April 2023. Not during the Reese moment.
So why would Taylor flatten the arc of Clark’s rise to one confrontation?
Maybe because she wasn’t lying when she said, “You need villains. You need heroes.” In the sports content business, conflict sells. Rivalries write themselves. Clark and Reese are made-for-TV friction—two alpha scorers with attitude, flair, and history.
But when the narrative starts erasing context, fans push back. Especially when receipts come out from the same people who once said Clark “shouldn’t change anything” and is no victim.
Caitlin Clark sees progress as the Fever fall to the Aces, believing a breakthrough is near
Well, no matter what Joy Taylor might see, Caitlin Clark’s greatness lies in her ability to envision her team’s growth, often before anyone else can. And maybe we’re about to witness another real-time example of that foresight.
After a tough 89–81 loss to the Las Vegas Aces, Clark remained remarkably upbeat about the Indiana Fever’s progress. “I feel like we’re really close to being really good,” she said with a smile at the postgame press conference in Las Vegas. “That’s what’s been frustrating about these few losses.”
Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) returned to Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City for a WNBA preseason game against the Brazil national team on May 4, 2025.
And that optimism might just turn out to be a prophecy fulfilled sooner rather than later.
Yes, the game was a clash of stars and streaks. A’ja Wilson dropped 24 points to lead the reigning champs past the Fever, snapping a three-game skid. Jackie Young and Chelsea Gray added 19 and 18, respectively. Indiana countered with 26 points from Aliyah Boston, 18 in the first half. Clark finished with 19 points and 11 assists. The Fever stayed neck-and-neck until a 9–2 Aces run in the fourth quarter sealed their fate.
Despite the loss, Indiana’s cohesion is beginning to shine through, just like it did before the Olympic break last season, and just like Clark predicted then, too.
Back in August 2024, she said: “It’s taken time, but I think we’re really starting to get it down.” After the July 18–August 15 break, Indiana went 9–4 to clinch their first playoff berth since 2016.
It’s déjà vu all over again. Clark can see it. The Fever might just be closer than ever.
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