Joy Taylor says Caitlin Clark wouldn’t be as popular today without Angel Reese’s viral taunt during the 2023 NCAA title game.

(Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images), (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)

Joy Taylor is stirring debate with her recent comments about WNBA star Caitlin Clark’s meteoric rise to fame, suggesting it may not have reached such heights without a pivotal moment involving fellow star Angel Reese.

During an appearance on The Joe Budden Podcast, Taylor pointed to the viral exchange between Clark and Reese during the 2023 NCAA Women’s National Championship Game as a turning point. In the game’s final moments, Reese famously waved her hand in front of Clark’s face and pointed to her ring finger — a taunt that exploded across social media and ignited a national conversation.

“[The Clark vs. Reese rivalry] has now spun into this thing where, like, Caitlin is better than Angel, and blah blah blah,” Taylor said. “I just said that we would not be talking about Caitlin Clark the way that we do if it wasn’t for that moment with Angel Reese. And I will die on this hill. I will die on this hill.”

Joy Taylor stood 10 toes down on the Joe Budden podcast when speaking on her stance that the media would not be talking about Caitlyn Clark had she not had that moment with Angel Reese.

It’s certainly a hill to die on, considering Clark was already a headline machine before Reese’s viral gesture. Clark, who starred for Iowa during that game and now plays for the Indiana Fever, was already gaining national attention for her record-breaking performances.

Still, Taylor’s comments reflect a broader conversation about how viral moments — especially those involving rivalries — can propel athletes to new levels of cultural relevance. She also claimed Clark’s talent alone wasn’t enough to push women’s basketball into the daily sports news cycle.

“It’s crazy to me, every time I bring this up, they’re like, ‘Angel’s not better. We would’ve been talking about her anyway.’No the fuck you wouldn’t. You fucking wouldn’t,” said Taylor. “And the reason you wouldn’t is I do this every goddamn day. I know what we talk about on my show. We were not doing WNBA topic — whole 15-minute segments — on the fucking show until that happened.”

She continued, “Fuck off. I know what I’m talking about. It’s not about saying that Angel’s better than Caitlin or that Caitlin wouldn’t be a great player. It’s principle storytelling. I’m not making this up. I know what I’m talking about.”