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Author of Caitlin Clark Book Takes a Shot at Angel Reese
Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images | Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark and Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese have had their fair share of battles over the years, emerging as two of the brightest young stars in the WNBA.

When two players dominate like they have, with Clark leading the league in assists (8.4) last season and Reese leading the WNBA in rebounds (13.1), a rivalry naturally forms. Even so, Reese’s comments during their rookie season about the attention Clark has received further pushed that rivalry narrative.

"I'll look back at 20 years and be like, yeah, the reason why we're watching women's basketball is not just because of one person," Reese said. "It's because of me, too, and I want y'all to realize that. Like, it's not just because of one person."

Meanwhile, Christine Brennan, author of the book "On Her Game: Caitlin Clark and the Revolution in Women's Sports," was a guest on ESPN LA and discussed the significant increase in attention, particularly in television viewership.

"I mean, it's Caitlin. Again, the TV viewership is Caitlin Clark. It's not Angel and Caitlin, it's Caitlin," Brennan said. "It's Caitlin Clark only, and I think Angel's a great rebounder and great, you know, excellent at what she does. She doesn't move the needle on TV ratings."

The numbers back up Brennan’s point. According to USA Today, Indiana Fever nationally televised games saw a 53% drop in viewership when Clark was out with a left quad strain earlier this season. Prior to the injury, Indiana’s games averaged 1,810,000 viewers, but that number dropped to 847,000.

Then, in Clark's first game back, the Fever faced the New York Liberty, and it became the third most-watched WNBA game on ABC ever, averaging 2.2 million viewers and peaking at 2.8 million.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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