Angel Reese’s Quick Gesture Toward Caitlin Clark Draws Attention After Viral Moment
Nobody expected Team USA to struggle against any of the five teams they faced in the FIBA Women's World Cup Qualifying Tournament, which took place from March 11 to March 17.
This is owed to the massive gap in skill between them and every other team in the competition. And this was proven by the fact that Team USA's closest victory was their 14-point win against Team Spain on March 17. Although most of the game was even less competitive than the 84-70 final score would suggest.
Because there wasn't a lot of interest around the final scores, one of the biggest storylines for Team USA fans to follow was how players on their team interacted with each other, given that they're usually competing against each other in the WNBA. And in this regard, there were no two players more interesting to follow than Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese, given their history with one another.
While these two rivals didn't harbor any visible bad blood towards each other, one moment during Team USA's March 13 game against Puerto Rico raised eyebrows.
Clark was walking around the court, high-fiving several Team USA players. Reese could be seen holding her hand out, expecting Clark to give her a high-five, but Clark either didn't see her or avoided her completely.
It appeared that Clark was only high-fiving the players who had just entered the game and might not have seen Reese. Still, this moment went supremely viral on social media and sparked a lot of buzz.
They really hate each other. pic.twitter.com/muJC4aYR6U
— Hoops (@Hoopss) March 13, 2026
Angel Reese’s Caitlin Clark Team USA Gesture Turns Heads
However, Reese made it clear that she didn't hold anything ill towards Clark for this high-five snub during Team USA's March 17 game against Spain.
This is shown by the fact that after Clark drove to the paint for a layup and fell to the ground, Reese quickly went over to help her up. Moments later, Clark assisted Reese on a layup, and the two exchanged several high-fives.
Bleacher Report's X account posted a highlight of these two interactions with the caption, "Caitlin and Angel teamwork 🔥🤝
"Duo connection for the buzzer beater 🙌".
Caitlin and Angel teamwork 🔥🤝
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 17, 2026
Duo connection for the buzzer beater 🙌 @FIBAWWC #FIBAWWC
USA vs. Spain is on TNT & HBO Max 📺 pic.twitter.com/7SMj8iaRkL
Some fans will still try to deny that there's a rivalry between Clark and Reese. But them being rivals doesn't mean they can't be cordial on the court, especially when they're teammates. And this interaction on Tuesday served as further proof of that, which fans should appreciate.
Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.
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