Joy Taylor reveals why she thinks Caitlin Clark is popular
There's no doubt that Caitlin Clark is one of the most-talked-about players in the WNBA. Clark began to gain notoriety when she was a member of the University of Iowa women's basketball team. She continued to succeed, post-college as she became the NCAA Division I all-time leading scorer for both men's and women's basketball, earning the No. 1 spot in the WNBA Draft in 2024, and dominated her first year in the league earning WNBA Rookie of the Year, to just name a few of her achievements. While Clark has the accolades to back up allegations, sports reporter Joy Taylor suggests that another WNBA player made her the popular player she is today.
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'[The Clark vs. Reese rivalry] has now spun into this thing where, like, Caitlin is better than Angel, and blah blah blah,' Taylor said on The Joe Budden Podcast. 'I just said that 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 hill. I will die on this hill.'
Taylor claims Angel Reese is the reason that Clark has so much media attention due to their NCAA rivalry. Many Clark fans have defended the Indiana Fever star against Taylor's opinion as it has been raised several times online.
'It's crazy to me, every time I bring this up, they're like, 'Angel's not better. We would've been talking about her anyway.' No the f**k you wouldn't. You f*****g wouldn't,' said Taylor. 'And the reason you wouldn't is I do this every godd**n day. I know what we talk about on my show. We were not doing WNBA topic — whole 15-minute segments — on the f**king show until that happened.'
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She continued, 'F**k off. I know what I'm talking about. It's not about saying that Angel's better than Caitlin or that Caitlin wouldn't be a great player. It's principle storytelling. I'm not making this up. I know what I'm talking about.'
Do Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese Have Beef?
Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images
Despite rumors online, neither Clark or Reese has said that their is a dislike of one another outside of typical competitiveness while playing the game they both love.
'I think it's just competition, it's been competition since college,' Reese said during the interview with Complex's Speedy Morman in November 2024. 'Being able to play against Caitlin, I've been playing against Caitlin since we were probably in eighth or ninth grade. We both were really competitive in AAU. I went to Maryland, she went to Iowa so we competed there and then finally being able to compete in the national championship. People don't know the legacy of us being able to play against each other for a really long time.'
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The Chicago Sky star added that there is a bigger goal in mind — expanding women's basketball.
'Obviously social media is going to put two women against each other,' Reese continued. 'I think it's been something that's negative, but also positive. I think it shines light on women's basketball so I'll take that of being able to be the person that gets the hate but I know that at the end of the day I'm growing women's basketball and helping women's basketball.'
As for Clark, she shared how her relationship with Reese stands on and off the court.
'We're not best friends, by any means, but we're very respectful of one another,' Clark told TIME when she was named Athlete of the Year in 2024 by the publication. 'Yes, we have had tremendous battles. But when have I ever guarded her? And when has she guarded me?' she said.
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She added: 'The only thing people cared about was this controversy that was really fabricated and made up, and then that has continued to be the case ever since.'
Clark recently received a flagrant foul against Reese during their team's 2024 season's opener. While Reese didn't make much more of the situation calling it 'basketball play. Refs got it right. Move on,' Clark also defended herself against the play.
'Let's not make it anything that it's not,' said Clark afterward. 'It was just a good play on the basketball. I'm not sure what the ref saw to upgrade it. That's up to their discretion after watching the initial whatever happened during the play and then whatever happened after.'
'It's a take foul, to put them at the free throw line,' she added. 'I wasn't trying to do anything malicious. That's not the type of player I am.'
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