Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

WNBABy Ben Axelrod on 05/24/2024

Earlier this week, Charles Barkley opined that opposing players should “stop being petty” toward Caitlin Clark and should instead thank the Indiana Fever rookie “for bringing all that money and shine to the WNBA.”

It’s clear that Barkley’s comments didn’t sit well with one of the other young faces of the league.

On Thursday, the Chicago Sky defeated the New York Liberty 90-81, with rookie forward Angel Reese scoring 13 points and grabbing a team-high nine rebounds in the win. Following the game, the former LSU star took to X to take a not-so-subtle swipe at Barkley’s comments from earlier this week.

“and that’s on getting a WIN in a packed area not just cause of one player on our charter flight,” Reese wrote on X, along with a kissing face emoji.

Reese later deleted the post, presumably because right-wing influencers like Riley Gaines attempted to portray it as her taking a shot at Clark. And while Reese’s emphasis on “WIN” — Clark’s Fever are currently 0-5 — could be perceived as such, it seems clear that her primary intent was to throw shade at Barkley’s comment and highlight that the WNBA is bigger than just one player.

As Clark’s rookie season continues, that figures to be a conversation that won’t be going away anytime soon. While the former Iowa star has clearly brought unprecedented attention to the WNBA, it’s understandable that other players would take offense to constantly being reminded of that.

That’s especially so for Reese, considering her own personal history with Clark dating back to their matchup in last year’s national title game (which LSU won). While the Sky forward has insisted she was no personal ill-will toward Clark, the two will forever be linked as rivals and it’s hardly surprising that Reese would be at the forefront of pushing back on the notion that the W is a one-player league.

[Courtside Buzz on X]