Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese 'rivalry' proves to still be nothing of the sort as Fever handle Dream

They call Caitlin Clark vs. Angel Reese a "rivalry."

But don't rivals need to stand on at least somewhat equal footing?

This isn't just about teams, although Clark's Indiana Fever won handily over Reese's Atlanta Dream on Thursday night -- and the Fever have been substantially better the previous two seasons than Reese's former Chicago Sky.

This is about the two main actors in the play. Clark is a do-everything, superstar point guard with limitless shooting range. Reese is a high-energy frontcourt player who gobbles up a lot of rebounds but struggles to finish inside or shoot from outside.

Reese had a solid game in the loss, finishing 11 points, 10 rebounds and three assists.

Clark shot it poorly, just 6-for-17, but added seven rebounds and eight assists.

MORE: Angel Reese's shooting form is pretty much broken

And yes, when these two play, they draw a lot of attention from the women's basketball world. They sparked the flame as college competitors for LSU (Reese) and Iowa (Clark), and so there's always some extra hype around this clash.

It's just time to stop calling it a rivalry.

Maybe the word "feud" would be a better way to describe it. At least from the outside, fans want to believe there's serious bad blood there. It makes the whole matchup more compelling.

But Clark and Reese don't play the same position, so it's not like they spend a ton of time guarding each other. And the reality is they just aren't the same tier of player at all.

MORE: Fever's whole approach is setting Caitlin Clark up to fail

Clark and Reese are both crucial to the future of the WNBA -- but it's Reese who was traded by her original team this offseason because they didn't see a winning future with her.

There's been speculation about drama between Clark and the Fever lately, but the reality is in a high-profile game, they still let her take 17 shots and run the whole show offensively.

Sports need rivalries, and so that's what has been created here. But if that's the word that has to be used to describe this, it certainly isn't a balanced rivalry.

More WNBA news:

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• Caitlin Clark's injury may trace to a dirty play in 2025
• Paige Bueckers, Azzi Fudd share a viral video moment 
• Sky freed Kamilla Cardoso from Angel Reese, and they're being proven right