Reese starred in the Chicago Sky’s loss to Charles’ Atlanta Dream

Angel Reese has a respectful gesture for Tina Charles that she never had for Caitlin ClarkAngel Reese paid a great amount of respect to the Atlanta Dream’s Tina Charles when they faced the Chicago Sky, leaving some fans wondering why she never extended that courtesy to the Indiana Fever‘s Caitlin Clark…

The Dream managed to edge out the Sky in an 89-80 win after managing to survive a late rally from Reese‘s side that saw them close to within three points in the final quarter after initially trailing by 14

That revival was spearheaded by the ex-LSU Tigers‘ star, who scored 13 points and 13 rebounds with five steals whilst Charles went for 22 points and seven rebounds on the opposing side of the court.

At the end of the game, the 35-year-old and the 22-year-old overall sixth pick in the draft had an emotional moment as they hugged it out and exchanged fond words, seemingly to compliment each other on their healthy competition.

“Tina Charles and Angel Reese hugging at the end of the game,” one user posted on X.com, formerly Twitter. “Now this is good sportsmanship. Will the national media show this narrative?”

Reese herself responded online with a simple, “Learning from the best.” She will now begin preparing to face the Connecticut Sun on July 12 at the Wintrust Arena as part of the WNBA Commissioner’s Cup series.

Why do Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark not get along?

The fond exchange left fans wondering why Reese couldn’t have the same amount of compassion for Clark. The Sky‘s star player was seen spotted celebrating Chennedy Carter’s flagrant foul on the Fever shooter recently, and it came after a bunch of cheap shots.

Reese recently appeared to suggest she is as big of a draw as Clark in the WNBA, although this is evidently not true based on matchday attendances and in college basketball, she was even seen gloating to Clark‘s face during the NCAA national championship game in 2023.

That’s where their rivalry begins as the two emerged as the best talents in college at the time and faced off in March Madness in consecutive years, winning one game apiece. Of course, the Tigers beat the Iowa Hawkeyes in 2023 so Reese had the last laugh.

It could be part of Reese‘s mentality that she has to have a rival to drive herself to do better, the same way Kobe Bryant or Michael Jordan would create rivals for that purpose.