Throughout her career, Caitlin Clark has had her fair share of rivals and on-court adversaries. Now, at the beginning of her third season in the WNBA, it looks like she officially has a new rivalry to add to the list.
On Friday, Clark and the Indiana Fever hosted the Golden State Valkyries in a game that had plenty of intensity during and after the contest. At the center of that intensity was a fiery incident between Clark and WNBA veteran Tiffany Hayes of the Valkyries, and it seems like that moment has bloomed into a new rivalry.
Caitlin Clark Rivalries
Over the years, Clark has had her fair share of on-court rivals, mostly stemming from on-court incidents or interactions.
Clark’s most high-profile rivalry is obviously with Angel Reese, which goes back to their college days when Reese infamously trolled Clark during the 2023 NCAA Women’s Basketball National Championship when she did the “You Can’t See Me” gesture and pointed to her ring finger.
Since then, however, Clark has had several more rivalries stemming from other players in the WNBA.
Before Clark even played in the WNBA, she developed a bit of a rivalry with WNBA legend Diana Taurasi, who warned Clark that “reality is coming” for her when she enters the league and begins playing against professional players. Taurasi, however, very quickly changed her tune and now praises Clark at nearly every opportunity.
Once Clark entered the league, she immediately developed a bit of a rivalry with Chennedy Carter of the Chicago Sky after Carter knocked Clark to the ground with an illegal screen and then refused to answer questions about it after the game. Carter then took to social media to criticize Clark, saying, “beside three point shooting what does she bring to the table man.”
That same year, Clarked developed a bit of a rivalry with DiJonai Carrington, which began during the regular season when she mocked Clark for appearing to embellish contact on a foul. Then, in the playoffs, Carrington’s fingers hit Clark in the eye, leaving Clark with a black eye. The incident led to a social media fury with speculation about whether it was intentional. Carrington responded by calling out Clark for not doing more to speak out against people using her name to make racist attacks.
In 2025, Clark had an incident with Connecticut Sun veteran Marina Mabrey, who shoved Clark to the ground during a heated altercation. Mabrey was hit with a technical foul, though many felt the punishment should have been harsher.
Clark has also had testy interactions with Jacy Sheldon at both the WNBA and collegiate levels, and has recently been thrust into a bit of a rivalry with Paige Bueckers, who won the WNBA’s Rookie of the Year award last season, following Clark’s win in 2024.
A New Rivalry
During Friday night’s game, an incident between Clark and Hayes seemed to spark a new rivalry for the Fever star.
Late in the third quarter, Clark hit a deep three from the logo to even the score at 48. As soon as the shot dropped, Clark moved toward Hayes and had some words for her.
Although it’s unclear what exactly Clark said, Hayes was clearly not happy with Clark’s comments and responded with some trash talk of her own. While getting back on defense, Clark gestured back and forth between herself and Hayes, seemingly making it clear that the matchup between the two had become personal.
She’s an absolute psycho pic.twitter.com/wHiIXiUddO https://t.co/cYlGPZ0nX2
— Clark Report (@CClarkReport) May 23, 2026
After the game, Hayes let her frustration show ahead of her postgame press conference as a hot microphone picked up Hayes criticizing the officiating.
“They’re never going to start calling the fouls on her,” Hayes could be heard saying. “If they did, she would never get to play the game.”
Hayes continued to voice her frustration on social media after the game, where she interacted with several fans, “liking” some controversial posts and responding to a few more.At one point, Hayes appeared to condone a fan who vaguely threatened violence against Clark.
“Listen. I got some cousins we don’t speak about that will ride at dawn upon request. Just let me know,” the fan wrote.
“That’s real,” Hayes responded, with a laughing emoji.
Clark was asked about the incident after the game, and she had a much more diplomatic answer.
“Yeah, I think that’s just being a competitor, and like, that’s what’s fun. That’s what I love about it,” Clark said. “And like, I think that’s what gets the crowd into it too and gets my teammates hyped up. And I think there’s times I can probably find a little bit better of a balance because like doing all that is a little bit exhausting too.
“I just love the game. I love being out there, and I love those moments and getting the crowd hype. And, you know, I think that just brings out the best in both teams. Like, this is a great game, a lot of great competitors on both sides.”
Fans won’t have to wait long for the next chapter in their rivalry, either, as the two teams have a rematch slated on Thursday night.
About Dave Kelsey
Contributing author to The Comeback.