ANGEL REESE and Caitlin Clark’s interactions are a sub-plot of the women’s Fiba World Cup, the WNBA season and if you spend enough time on social media, a divided country. Clark and Reese continue to insist their relationship on the court is fine.

Both players are intense and animated competitors, and their fanbases are fiercely loyal. On much of social media you’re either for Reese or for Clark. It has that feel of rooting for Duke or Carolina; Yankees or Red Sox or Bird or Magic.

The pair have definitely bonded so far in the World Cup in their national team debuts. Clark said many of the stories about their relationship are “false takes,” saying she loves the fiery competitiveness that she and Reese share.

“No matter what, there’s always going to be people that create those narratives and say whatever they want to say,” Clark said. “There’s definitely no stopping that and they’re always going to be there. I think for ourselves, like I said, it’s easy for us to just come in here and compete.”

Reese has enjoyed playing with Clark and the other young members of the roster, including Paige Bueckers and Aliyah Boston.

“We can kind of rely on each other, lean on each other,” Reese said. “This is our first big national event, so being able to play with each other, learn each other and go through this learning process together, it’s fun.”

Clark and Reese have played together on the 2024 WNBA All-Star team that beat the US Olympic team, but they will forever be joined at the hip after their clash in the 2023 NCAA title game catapulted them into the centre of debates.

Reese’s LSU squad topped Clark’s Iowa team in the match-up, but the players actions and interactions (who can forget Reese pointing to her ring finger in the closing seconds?), drew attention to them.

Clark said she appreciates Reese’s desire to win and her relentlessness on the court, saying “it’s been fun to to be able to play with her.”

The United States made sure the partnership continues into the weekend, crushing Hungary 108-56 to reach Saturday’s semi-finals.

They’ll be back on opposite sides soon enough — Reese’s Atlanta Dream and Clark’s Indiana Fever are both headed for the WNBA play-offs and both have 26-14 records. They could meet in the first round if the current seeds hold.

But for now, they share a common goal and the fact that Reese and Clark say they are having fun on the court together is good news for women’s basketball fans. The duo could be part of a core group of players expected to be team-mates in the next several Olympics.