On Saturday night, Angel Reese will play her first minutes in the WNBA Finals.

Caitlin Clark is still waiting for her first postseason series win.

Reese's Atlanta Dream is four wins from a first-ever WNBA title, though Atlanta is an underdog against the Golden State Valkyries and their imposing home-court advantage. Even still, that Reese is here in her third professional season shows the advantage she has built in "the only race that really matters," according to The Athletic's Ian O'Connor.

"Clark knows how the superstar game is played. She knows that even in a team sport, first-round playoff losses are permanently attached to a franchise player’s legacy … unless there are ring ceremonies to come," O'Connor wrote. "And in that context, Reese has a chance to take a commanding lead in the only race with Clark that really matters ... If the Dream prevail, Reese will have a pro ring to go with her college ring — along with the FIBA World Cup gold medal she won with Clark in September."

MORE: Angel Reese faces fascinating WNBA Finals challenge against Golden State's biggest star

Famously, Reese and Clark matched wits in the 2023 NCAA national championship game, when the "rivalry" between the two first broke containment and became a part -- for better or worse -- of the nation's sporting consciousness.

Reese's infamous John Cena-inspired celebration in Clark's face as the game got out of hand put a national spotlight on the then-LSU forward, who was taken six picks behind Clark in the following year's WNBA Draft.

Postseason record (including college): Angel Reese - 17-3 (1 National Championship) Caitlin Clark - 12-8 https://t.co/yMcxKql2SX

— Underdog (@Underdog) October 8, 2026

Since then, Clark and Reese have combined for six All-Star selections, three rebounding titles, an assists title and 10 playoff games.

The only series wins to date, though, belong to Reese -- whose Dream has streaked into the WNBA Finals thanks to a 5-0 postseason to date.

Meanwhile, Clark has won a single playoff game, and her Indiana Fever faces existential questions about their direction -- especially if the franchise's leading scorer, Kelsey Mitchell, walks away in free agency this winter.

O'Connor contends that Clark and Reese "are both too skilled and too competitive not to win multiple WNBA titles before their careers are done." However, Reese has a "golden opportunity" to lengthen the gap to Clark by winning a ring this year.

And that gap may well prove to be insurmountable, given the track records of those involved.

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