Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese’s debate heating up as Fever star’s decision might pay off

Caitlin Clark will begin the 2025 WNBA season following an offseason of relaxation, while Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese will compete fresh after winning the Unrivalled title.

A popular article on X last week featured the WNBA players with the most Instagram followers, stating Chicago Sky’s Angel Reese was the “face of the league” with 4.8 million.

Reese may be the most popular player in the league, having placed second in the 2024 Rookie of the Year poll and earning the second-most rebounds in a single WNBA season.

Caitlin Clark of the Indiana Fever finished second behind Reese with 3.1 million, followed by Paige Bueckers (2.3 million), Sabriana Ionescu (1.4 million), and A’ja Wilson (1.3 million). Clark is frequently likened to Reese as the league’s most popular player, owing to their rivalry during college.

Reese elevated her name in the basketball world by winning the Defensive Player of the Year title with Rose BC in the newly formed Unrivalled league. Clark, however, chose to recuperate following a hectic 2024 calendar year.

The Fever standout was taken first overall in the 2024 WNBA Draft, only one week after losing the 2024 NCAA National Championship game to South Carolina. She hit the ground running, averaging 19.2 points, 5.7 rebounds, and a league-leading 8.4 assists to help Indiana into the playoffs for the first time since 2016.

Clark declined a substantial offer from Unrivalled — one for almost a million dollars and included ownership stock — in favour of resting ahead of her second season.

Clark has attended a slew of basketball games this offseason as she takes a break from playing(Image: Getty Images)

She has the luxury to make such a choice. Clark has a number of sponsorships that pay her seven figures, including an eight-year, $28 million agreement with Nike. “So you basically go home for one day and pack up your whole life and then move to a new city, the city that you get draughted to,” Clark told Elle about the frenetic transition from college to professional level. “So I think it’s just the adjustment period that you have.”

Clark went further: “I think the biggest difference is just how fast you have to move on and change from being a college student, a college athlete, and then you’re like a professional athlete and there’s a lot that comes with that too.”

Clark will hope that her choice to relax pays off when the WNBA resumes. Both Clark and Reese made less than $75,000 in their breakthrough rookie seasons. Fortunately for the Sky star, her Rose BC were the Unrivalled league winners, which earned her an additional $50,000. “50K NEED DATTTTT,” she tweeted after the triumph, which she missed due to injury.

“I just hope y’all know the WNBA does not pay my bills at all,” Reese stated in an Instagram Live video last autumn. “I don’t believe that will cover one of my expenses. “I am living beyond my means.”

The WNBA will resume on Friday, May 16, with three games: Atlanta Dream vs Washington Mystics, Minnesota Lynx vs Dallas Wings, and Los Angeles Sparks against Golden State Valkyries (the league’s new club).