Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese must now work together at Women's World Cup as WNBA takes a high-stakes break
The U.S. is headed to a battle in Berlin.
Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese will have to work together to uphold American dominance in the Women's Basketball World Cup in September. At home, the WNBA will take a two-week break from hosting the chaos of the 2026 season.
So Americans will have to root together for their biggest stars on the world stage. The U.S. has won four consecutive World Cups in a row and this year's team will also have to protect an active 30-game win streak.
What happens in Berlin could very well shape the climate of the league that the players return to when the WNBA season resumes.
Clark and Reese have spent more than three years framed as adversaries.
The last time they were on a basketball court, Clark was seen laughing as she walked by Reese, who had just missed the game-winning layup.
Their rivalry fueled the 2023 national championship game between Iowa and LSU. It followed them into a rematch in the 2024 NCAA Tournament, then into the WNBA as the top two contenders for Rookie of the Year. Every matchup, foul and postgame comment became another invitation for fans to choose a side.
But at times, they've also shown glimpses of what that can look like when playing together.
Reese first said, "one day, hopefully, we can be teammates," while discussing Clark in an October 2024 Wall Street Journal article.
They first became teammates at the 2024 WNBA All-Star Game, when Clark recorded 10 assists and Reese finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds in Team WNBA’s victory over the U.S. Olympic team.
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In March, Clark and Reese helped the U.S. go 5-0 at the World Cup qualifying tournament in Puerto Rico.
There was an awkward moment when Clark appeared to ignore a high five invitation from Reese during one of the games.
Clark earned tournament MVP honors after averaging 11.6 points and a tournament-leading 6.4 assists. Reese averaged a team-high eight rebounds while shooting 52.2% from the field.
"Team chemistry is everything," Reese said during the qualifying tournament. "Some of us have played with each other on our respective teams, but we have to come together and find your role. Everybody’s not going to be able to do everything that they do on their respective team."
Clark and Reese will play alongside established champions A’ja Wilson, Breanna Stewart, Napheesa Collier and Chelsea Gray in Berlin.
The available rules and national-team precedent point to the entire U.S. team standing on the court for "The Star-Spangled Banner" in Berlin. Whether every player places her hand over her heart or sings along is a separate question that neither USA Basketball nor FIBA rules answer.
The issue has drawn new attention during the 2026 WNBA season because teams have followed different routines.
Several WNBA teams historically and routinely remain in the locker room or clear the floor during the playing of the national anthem as part of pregame routines.
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The Atlanta Dream remained in their locker room while the anthem played before their Aug. 16 game against the Indiana Fever. That left Reese and Rhyne Howard, both members of the World Cup roster, off the court while Clark, Aliyah Boston and the rest of the Fever stood along the sideline.
Clark stood facing the flag with her hands behind her back. Sophie Cunningham placed her right hand over her heart.
The difference generated criticism of Clark online, although nothing in the WNBA rulebook requires players to sing or place a hand over their heart.
The rules change when those players leave their WNBA teams and join the national program.
USA Basketball’s code of conduct requires participants to follow FIBA and USA Basketball rules, attend team functions as directed and "demonstrate proper respect during the playing of the national anthem." The code does not define "proper respect," but it gives USA Basketball authority to investigate alleged violations and impose discipline.
FIBA also controls the ceremonies in Berlin. Its 2026 regulations state that only anthems and flags of countries or national federations recognized by FIBA may be used. The regulations leave the details of World Cup ceremonies to the tournament’s hosting documents. They do not publicly prescribe whether a player must sing, place a hand over her heart or assume another specific posture.
FIBA’s code of conduct additionally prohibits players and other "basketball parties" from using gestures, words or objects to transmit political or ideological messages that are deemed unfit for a sporting event. The rule does not specifically identify kneeling, remaining silent or declining to place a hand over the heart as violations. It does, however, give FIBA greater control over demonstrations than the WNBA has exercised during its domestic season.
Past U.S. teams have treated international competition differently from the WNBA. American players who routinely remained off the court during WNBA anthems stood together for them at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. Sue Bird, then the team’s captain and now the managing director who selected the 2026 roster, said wearing a USA uniform changed the context.
"You are wearing USA jerseys and it does change the conversation a little bit and what you’re representing," Bird said at the time. "With that, I don’t feel like a hypocrite in any way. Everyone knows where we stand. I don’t think it contradicts anything since we’re actually doing the work." The U.S. players stood with their arms linked during that Olympic run.
There also were no reported anthem protests during the United States’ five-game World Cup qualifying run in Puerto Rico in March. That team included Clark, Reese, Howard, Paige Bueckers and Kahleah Copper.
As of Aug. 30, no member of the World Cup roster has publicly announced plans to kneel, leave the floor or conduct another demonstration during the anthem in Berlin.
The Americans will open the World Cup against China on Sept. 4. It will be a rematch of the 2022 World Cup final. Women's basketball dominance over America's greatest current geopolitical rival will be on the line.
There have been 15 World Cup and Olympic meetings between the countries, and the U.S. has won all 15.
Two of those victories came at the 2022 World Cup. The U.S. beat China 77-63 during group play and then defeated it again, 83-61, in the final. The victory gave the Americans their fourth consecutive world championship.
China still viewed its silver medal as a major national achievement. The championship game took place on Oct. 1, China’s National Day.
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Afterward, China’s General Administration of Sport praised the team for competing "with the motherland in mind." The government agency called the silver medal "a perfect birthday gift to the country," according to China Daily.
What happens during national anthems will also be a point of potential contrast during the game against China.
China has had a national anthem law since 2017. The law specifically lists major sporting events as occasions for the anthem and directs those present to stand solemnly and behave respectfully. Deliberately insulting the anthem in public can result in detention or criminal prosecution under Chinese law.
The law will not govern what the American players do in Berlin. But it shows how differently the two countries can treat displays of patriotism at sporting events.
In the U.S., anthem protests have become part of the political debate surrounding professional sports. Players have been praised, criticized and placed under close scrutiny depending on whether they stand, kneel, leave the court or place a hand over their heart.
In China, disrespecting the anthem can become a legal matter.
The World Cup opener will arrive amid another sensitive period in U.S.-China relations. The countries remain divided over trade, tariffs, human rights and China’s relationship with Taiwan, even as officials work toward another meeting between their presidents.
None of that will determine what happens on the court. But it will affect how the game—and especially the moments before it — are interpreted in both countries.