Caitlin Clark’s shove on Angel Reese was upgraded to a flagrant foul as it was deemed ‘not a legitimate basketball play’ and ‘unnecessary contact’.

Tempers flared between Indiana Fever star Clark and Chicago Sky rival Reese less than 30 minutes into their WNBA season opener, with Reese reacting furiously to being knocked to the floor by Clark, her longtime nemesis.

Caitlin first slapped the Sky forward across the arm after she grabbed an offensive rebound, causing her to tumble to the ground in the middle of the third quarter.

The push left Angel seething as she leapt back to her feet and made a beeline for the Fever icon before her teammates quickly intervened. 

After a replay review, the referees upgraded Clark’s foul to a flagrant one. Clark was upset by this decision, expressing her frustrations during and after Indiana’s eventual 93-58 win, insisting that it was just a ‘basketball play’.

Yet the game’s referee crew chief, Roy Gulbeyan, saw things differently.

Gulbeyan said in a statement released by the WNBA Communications account on x: ‘Okay, the foul on Clark met the criteria for flagrant 1, for wind up, impact, and follow through for the extension of the left hand to Reese’s back, which is deemed not a legitimate basketball play, and therefore deemed unnecessary contact. 

‘After the foul, there is a physical taunt technical on Boston and a verbal technical on Reese, which offset.’

During an in-game interview with ESPN, Clark stressed that she was simply doing what every basketball player would do in the same situation.

‘It’s just a good take foul,’ the reigning WNBA Rookie of the Year said. ‘You know, either Angel gets a wide open two points, or we send them to the free-throw line. 

‘Nothing malicious about it. It’s just a good take foul. Every basketball player knows that.’ 

She also doubled down on that claim in her postgame press conference, urging reporters to ‘not make it anything it’s not.’

‘I wasn’t trying to do anything malicious. That’s not the type of player I am,’ Clark insisted.

‘I went for the ball, and that’s clear as day in the replay. You watch it… it shouldn’t have been upgraded [to a flagrant foul]. But that’s up the ref’s discretion.’ 

Reese agreed with Clark’s assessment in her own postgame press conference, while telling people to ‘move on’ from the incident in a blunt eight-word response.

When asked for her thoughts on Clark’s foul, she simply said: ‘Basketball play, refs got it right, move on.’ 

Reese and Clark have brought their rivalry from the college ranks with them into the big leagues, having famously clashed on the court during LSU and Iowa’s NCAA Championship game in 2023. 

In a memorable moment, Reese performed Clark’s trademark ‘You Can’t See Me’ celebration right in her face as she helped LSU claim victory on the night.

Last season they also went head-to-head for the coveted WNBA Rookie of the Year award, with the Indiana sensation ultimately coming out on top.

After Clark’s foul on Saturday, Reese went on to miss the first of her two throws, which drew huge cheers from the Fever crowd inside Gainbridge Fieldhouse, before making the second as Chicago added a layup on the ensuing possession to cut the deficit to 56-45. 

However, Indiana closed the third quarter on a 9-0 run to take a crucial 65-45 lead, and Chicago never really threatened to stage a comeback in the fourth. 

It was Clark who therefore had the last laugh over her arch-nemesis as the Fever cruised past the Sky 93-58 to open their account in style. 

It goes down as the largest opening win in franchise history for Indiana. 

Clark recorded her third career triple-double in the victory after putting up a game-high 20 points, along with 10 rebounds and as many assists. 

Reese, meanwhile, recorded 17 rebounds, 12 points and an assist as Chicago slumped to an opening-day defeat.