Jason Whitlock Softens Angel Reese Stance After Giving New Twist to Caitlin Clark Injury

The WNBA has its own Titan Atlas in Angel Reese. After literally “carrying the Sky” like the Titan, her back gave way. Reese missed around 20 days due to injury, but Jason Whitlock didn’t buy the franchise reports or coach Tyler Marsh. He accused Reese of giving up on the Sky amid a rerun of their 2024 season in 2025. “I think she’s quit on this season. I think this is a worse version than Kawhi Leonard. I think she’s using her back as an excuse to sit out because she doesn’t really care about basketball.” Whitlock had claimed.

Reese responded, not with words but by just doing what she does. She put up 19 points, seven rebounds, and four assists on 9 of 13 from the field against the Seattle Storm in her first game back. Reese has been on her game since, averaging 15.4 points and 13.6 rebounds in the last five games. “Angel Reese is the most unskilled basketball player in the history of basketball,” Whitlock has claimed in the past. However, Reese’s recent run has Whitlock reconsidering his judgment of Reese.

Whitlock said on “Fearless with Jason Whitlock”,  “Angel Reese is having an impact on me in terms of she’s a competitor. She figures out a way to be effective. It’s not pretty. It’s not. But she figures out a way. She is a competitor. I know that she disappeared for no reason. I think, took a mental health break in my view.” Well, this takes us to how Whitlock also compared Clark’s injury situation to former President Joe Biden’s. Now, he probably would have thought the same had Reese missed any more games.

“They’ve turned Caitlin Clark into Joe Biden. No press conferences for 2 months. The cover-up is always worse than the crime. Her injury has been the weirdest thing I’ve seen in sports,” Whitlock tweeted recently. He believes the same cover-up surrounding Reese applies to Clark. On his podcast, he went further, connecting Clark’s injury struggles and impending return to Reese’s situation, while still praising Reese’s contributions. “I think part of what’s going on with Caitlin Clark is a mental health break in my opinion. But my respect for Angel Reese just as a competitor, as someone figuring out a way to survive and be effective in the WNBA, I can’t do nothing but salute. I didn’t see it.”

Both Clark and Reese have one thing in common. The franchises are very private when it comes to their fitness issues. As opposed to Reese, Clark has yet to return, and the lack of information is killing the fans. In the latest update, she was doing 5-0 drills with Fever’s second team, but there is “still no schedule.” 

A mental health break might explain some of Clark’s absence, but her long list of injuries tells a clearer story. Multiple soft tissue injuries and a lingering bone bruise have slowed her down, and the Fever aren’t willing to risk the “long-term health” of the cornerstone of their franchise. Coach Stephanie White “hopes” Clark can return by the postseason, but nothing is certain yet. ESPN has listed her EST. return date as Sept.7. The Fever will be playing against the Mystics that day, a winnable game, but one they can’t afford to lose if they want to avoid the 8-seed fate.

But will they even reach the postseason? Angel Reese will have something to say about that. 

Whitlock Says Angel Reese Will Ruin Caitlin’s Title Hopes

Caitlin Clark has not started contact practice yet. Her health is improving steadily, and her “championship” hopes from before the season will likely be on her mind as she pushes for a return this season itself. The Fever has a rather light schedule in their journey to the playoffs. Out of 4 games, they have 2 considered winnable, while the other two are against the Minnesota Lynx and the Phoenix Mercury. The two winnable games are Angel Reese’s Sky and Sonia Citron’s Washington Mystics. However, according to Whitlock, Reese will botch Fever’s plans. 

Whitlock said, “If Angel Reese is healthy, Cardoso is healthy, and Ariel Atkins is healthy, and no Caitlin Clark. I believe the Chicago Sky are going to beat us in this final Chicago Sky-Fever game of the season. I really do. I think Angel Reese will try to have. I think she’ll go for 30 and 20. And I say that sincerely, and they will knock us off.”

The Chicago Sky are 0-4 against the Fever; they have been slapped around in multiple situations. When both had Reese and Clark, Fever won 58-93 with Clark’s triple-double. When both teams had their stars on the sidelines, Indiana won 93-78. Fever flattened the Sky when Reese was on the court despite being without Clark. Reese put up just 4 points and 12 rebounds as they were routed 79-52.

Here’s the thing, though. The forward was in a dry spell then, and it’s not the case now. She has an opportunity to be the villain in Caitlin Clark’s story.