Saturday 306 American Women s Basketball Team Chicago Sky VS Indiana Mania

Match time: 2025-05-18 03:00

WNBA is not shy to admit that its new favorite opponent is the Indiana Fever led by Caitlin Clark and the Chicago Sky led by Angel Reese.

Indiana and Chicago will play five times in the regular season, from May to September, once a month. Clark and Rees' second WNBA season kicks off Saturday afternoon in Indianapolis.

Both players experienced the pain of growing up during their rookie season before leaving their mark on the season.

Clark broke the WNBA single-season assist record (337 times) and rookie score record (769 points). Reese set a league record for single-season rebounds with 446 rebounds (13.1 rebounds per game), but at the end of the season, she missed six games with a wrist injury. Las Vegas Ace MVP Aja Wilson then surpassed Reese's total rebounds, five more than her. The brilliant record of the stars has not been transformed into far-reaching performance in the playoffs. Now both teams have changed head coaches and started their journey again. The Chicago Bulls (13 wins and 27 losses, missed the playoffs in 2024) chose Taylor Marsh, who hopes to further tap the team's power forward's organizational offensive potential.

"We don't want Angel Rees to be just a rebounder because her abilities are much more than that," Marsh said at Club Media Day. "Rebounding is always in her hands."

Indiana (20 wins and 20 losses) was swept by the Connecticut Suns in the first round, and head coach Christie Seitz was replaced by Connecticut head coach Stephanie White. White coached the Indiana Fever in the 2015-16 season. Her mission is to make Clark more lethal than before.

"From a pure basketball perspective, we want to make sure to help Clark expand her finishing power, expand in an unpredictable way," White said in the Good Follow podcast.

Clark is only 23 years old, but she is not keen on waiting for the success of her professional team. When asked what her definition of success in 2025 was, she replied concisely: "Champion."

Rees and the Sky would like to stop these goals. Reese already has a record of college national championships on his resume, but Clark has not, and Louisiana State beat Iowa State to win the championship in 2023.

The Sky signed Reese's teammate Haley Van Leish with his first-round pick. They brought back longtime point guard Courtney van der Slott and got former All-Star guard Ariel Atkins. There is still 6-foot-7 inches Camila Cardoso in the center position.

Fevers have brought in experienced players around Clark and 2023 No. 1 pick Alya Boston. The most dazzling star player on the team is forward Devana Bonner, who is only 7 points away from becoming the third-place scorer in the WNBA history.

"She is not only a brilliant leader, she is also a great basketball player," Clark said of Bonner in an interview with the Indianapolis Star. "She has won the championship and she knows what the championship means, so when she speaks, everyone listens carefully."