Caitlin Clark dismisses Angel Reese rivalry with Fever vs. Sky opening their WNBA season

Caitlin Clark understands rivalries.

And so when the Indiana Fever superstar was asked about the "budding rivalry" with the Chicago Sky and Angel Reese in a pregame media session Saturday, she was ready with her answer.

"You guys love it, that's for sure," Clark said with a smile to the assembled media.

Then, Clark went into a longer explanation of her experience with rivalries:

"Rivalry is great for sport," she said. "I understand that. I grew up loving rivalries. Iowa-Iowa State is like a pro matchup in the state of Iowa. I still hate our rival high school, Valley High School. I'm sure there's a lot of people from Valley High School who love and support me now, and I appreciate you guys, but I wasn't your biggest fan. I didn't like the Tigers growing up. My grandfather was the football coach, and Valley was the biggest rival, and I was taught when we drove by the high school growing up to hold my breath because I couldn't breathe that air. Rivalry is always a big thing."

MORE: Caitlin, Angel send same undeniable message with pregame fits

But that's about where it ended in Clark's justification of rivalries. She didn't want to add too much fuel to the fire ahead of the Fever's season opener against the Sky.

"As a player, you should approach the game the same every single time," Clark said. "You prepare the same way. You come ready to play. For the fans, it's great. They love it. Chicago is the closest team to us. I get it geographically. I think for our team and our group, we prepare the same way every single game. I expect it to be an awesome game."

MORE: This Caitlin Clark WNBA take is downright disrespectful

No matter what Clark says, it's clear that the WNBA world embraces the Clark-Reese rivalry dating back to their college days facing off for Iowa and LSU.

Clark surely will be plenty amped on Saturday, but much of that will have to do with it being the season opener.

There are many battles between these two to come, and Saturday is just another step on the rivalry journey.

MORE: Angel Reese insults Caitlin Clark with passive-aggressive comment