Clark has been on the receiving end a series of physical plays. Her perspective is a lesson for us all.

People like drama. It’s one of the reasons people are drawn to sports rivalries. Sometimes, however, the drama can be a distraction from the real game. Take, for example, the rivalry–and associated drama–between Indiana Fever rookie Caitlin Clark, and her Chicago Sky counterpart, Angel Reese.

Of course, the two have been rivals since long before their WNBA days. The two squared off in the 2023 NCAA Championship game, where Reese’s LSU Tigers defeated Clark’s Iowa team, despite Clark scoring 30 points and setting a record for most points scored in a single NCAA tournament.

Now that the two are WNBA rookies, the rivalry has heated up. In Sunday’s game between the Fever and Sky, Clark’s team came away with the win, but not before she was on the receiving end of an arm to her face. In Sunday’s game, it was Reese who went for a block during a layup and was assessed a Flagrant 1 Foul after a review of the foul.

It’s definitely not the first time Clark has gotten fouled. In the first matchup between the two, Clark was body-checked on an inbounds pass by Chennedy Carter. As Clark fell to the ground Reese can be seen celebrating on the bench. It almost seems like fouling Clark has become a sport of its own in the WNBA, with players looking to make their presence known to the league’s most popular player.

Reese, for her part, was pretty unhappy with how the game was called. “It was a basketball play,” Reese said after the game. “I can’t control the refs, they affected the game obviously a lot tonight… I guess some people get a special whistle.”

In response to Sunday’s foul, Clark seems to have a pretty good perspective. She knows there’s a target on her, and she knows that it doesn’t do a lot of good to get upset about it. It’s the price of being of getting to the top.

“What’s going through my mind is: ‘I need to make these two free throws, that’s all I’m thinking about,'” Clark said. “It’s just a part of basketball. It is what it is, you know. She’s trying to make a play on the ball and get the block. But yeah, it happens.”

Look, being the best means having a target on your back. Other players are going to come after you for any number of reasons. Sometimes, they just want to stop you from scoring. Sometimes, they want to make a point. They want you to know that just because you’re good, doesn’t mean you’re invincible.

“We’re competitors, that’s the way the game should be,” Clark said. “It’s going to get a little feisty, it’s gonna get physical, but at the end of the day both teams are just trying to win.”

There’s a powerful lesson in Clark’s response, which is that you don’t become a champion if you let every call (bad or good) get to you. You don’t become a champion if you let the hard fouls get you off your game. Instead, you become a champion by embracing competition with the best. Reese is one of the very best, and the game is better for their rivalry.

“Obviously I’ve played her for a very long time, and she’s been a tremendous player,” Clark said about Reese. “It’s been really fun getting to compete against (her). I think it’s been good for the game … people just love seeing great matchups.”

Ultimately, that’s the best perspective of all. Clark has a lot of respect for the game she plays as well as her opponents because she knows that’s what is best for all of them. She knows that it’s better for everyone when she’s at her best, and that means not getting pushed off her game–both figuratively and literally.