Angel Reese Breaks the Internet With NBA 2K26 Cover — Caitlin Clark Fans React

Angel Reese just landed one of the most coveted spots in sports media — a cover feature on NBA 2K.

The WNBA star will appear on the NBA 2K26 WNBA Edition cover, joining retired NBA legend Carmelo Anthony and 2025 NBA champion Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as this year’s featured athletes.

The news was announced on Wednesday, July 9 — and according to Reese, she found out she’d made the cover through a text message.

“I’m so blessed to be honored with these two,” Reese, 23, told PEOPLE. “I was just super excited…just trying to be the first of many, and have many young kids and young women look up to me and know that they can do the same things I’m doing.”

While many fans are celebrating the Chicago Sky player’s milestone, others are wondering if Caitlin Clark was also considered for the honor.

The announcement quickly sparked mixed reactions online. One person commented, “They put her on the cover before Caitlin? That’s sick,” while another wrote, “caitlin clark is the sole reason that WNBA views have went through the roof … ”

The two stars have had a well-documented rivalry, dating back to the 2023 NCAA Championship game between Reese’s LSU team and Clark’s Iowa squad.

Reese famously went viral for taunting Clark with her version of John Cena’s “you can’t see me” gesture, helping lead LSU to victory.

One of Reese’s most talked-about postgame moments from that championship run was when she told reporters she was facing backlash for going toe-to-toe with Clark’s trash talk “for the girls that look like” her — a quote that quickly spread online.

Reese says that sentiment still resonates. “That quote still stays with me,” she told PEOPLE, “and I’m really proud of myself, and the little girl in me is proud, and this is just an honor to be able to be a part of this and something that’s historic.”

Her latest cover moment shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise — she’s already made an All-Star impact.

“I got myself an All-Star year one, so I think the bar has been set and it’s expected now every year, so I’m really happy and pumped,” she says.