RIVALS TODAY, TEAM-MATES TOMORROW.

With All-Star and Olympic and other world competitions going on all the time, any conference or divisional rivalry better not get too personal.  Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark understand that.

“I know so many fans are gonna come out to watch both of us,” Reese told NBA Today on July 10, per CBS Sports. “I know a lot of people are just gonna come to Phoenix, I’m sure it’s already sold out. Being able to be in that environment, we’re gonna be playing together for a while so this is not gonna be the [last] time. I know we’ll be All-Stars again, and hopefully, in 2028 we’ll be Olympians together.”

I'm not sure why that would startle her coach.

Clark, meanwhile, says the game will be “fun” for “all of us,” but doesn’t want her team-up with Reese to overshadow other players’ accomplishments. “I know people are going to be really excited about it, but I hope it doesn’t take away from everybody else,” Clark said earlier this month. This is a huge accomplishment for everybody on Team USA and everybody on Team WNBA. They all deserve the same praise.”

Well, yes. Leave all the WWE Smackdown hype and any Culture Wars stuff out of it and let the kids play.