Was it a “basketball play,” or something more?

The second WNBA showdown between Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese featured no shortage of fireworks. Clark’s Indiana Fever emerged victorious over Reese’s Chicago Sky for the second time in as many meetings, but Reese’s flagrant foul on Clark during the third quarter has prompted major controversy as perhaps the defining moment of the game.

Clark’s many defenders on social media were quick to call out Reese and other Sky players for targeting Clark and subjecting her to excessive physical contact. But those “in the know” — people in and around the game of basketball — have defended Reese’s flagrant as an unfortunate basketball play, including an NBA star and former teammate of LeBron James.

Kyle Kuzma defends Reese’s “basketball play”

Washington Wizards forward Kyle Kuzma strongly defended Reese against all number of haters on social media, including Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy. The entrepreneur Portnoy posted to his three million followers on X (formerly Twitter) that Reese was doing “Reese stuff” by fouling Clark hard, but Kuzma strongly disputed this notion in a direct reply to Portnoy’s post.

Fans and media members also defended Reese from blowback following Chicago’s 91-83 loss to Indiana. Replay angles showed Reese was clearly targeting the ball instead of Clark as the Fever guard drove to the rim, but she unfortunately missed and swiped at Clark’s head — which saw Clark awarded two free throws.

Kuzma’s comment on X is unlikely to end the debate over this game any time soon, even if Clark and Reese both labeled it a basketball play and expressed a desire to move on from the incident. Still, if nothing else, it shows just how large a slice of the sporting culture the WNBA has acquired in the past year.