Caitlin Clark told a reporter not to pit her against Angel Reese after the two helped Team USA beat France in the FIBA World Cup final Sunday.
Clark was taking questions with her gold medal around her neck when a reporter asked whether she and Reese were now friends.
“We’ve always been friends. Don’t try to do that,” Clark said repeatedly before walking away.
Clark finished with 12 points as the United States overcame an early 14-point deficit to beat France, 97-79, and win its fifth straight World Cup title.
Clark and Reese have been portrayed as rivals since their college careers. Despite this, Reese and Clark praised each other during the FIBA Women’s World Cup. In a September 10 interview with TNT Sports, Reese discussed how much she enjoyed teaming up with her longtime rival.
“We’ve played against each other so many times, so I’m sure we know each other’s game like the back of each other’s hand. She dishes it off to me, I got one to her today, so, it’s fun. We just continue to build chemistry because we know we’re going to be USA teammates for a while,” Reese said.
Clark also pushed back against what she called “narratives” about her relationship with Reese during the tournament.
“No matter what, there’s always going to be people that create those narratives and say whatever they want to say. There’s definitely no stopping that and they’re always going to be there. I think for ourselves, like I said, it’s easy for us to just come in here and compete,” Clark said.
Clark’s response drew praise online, with several social media users applauding her.