Oh look, it’s Caitlin Clark. Salutations, Angel Reese. You two know each other, right? We’ve got the Chicago Sky visiting the Indiana Fever for some Midwest mayhem during the WNBA’s opening weekend.

ABC broadcasts can also be streamed on ESPN+.

These ascendants met for back-to-back bedlam in March Madness. Reese’s LSU won the 2023 national title game, while Clark and Iowa earned their get-back in the 2024 Elite Eight. As peers and in juxtaposition to each other, this duo has elevated women’s basketball. Up next is a Saturday ABC broadcast that will be accessible to some 90 million American households. Let’s keep it rolling.

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This should be a supremely fun one beyond the Clark-Reese radiance. The Sky look to be in win-now mode, adding tenacious two-guard Ariel Atkins and giving a curtain call to Courtney Vandersloot. The veteran dimer is this franchise’s all-time leader in minutes, shots, assists and steals. She was effective in her age-35 season, tallying 4.8 assists per game to 1.8 turnovers for the Liberty. Regardless of what the vets can offer, Chicago will still be an inside-first offense around the big-on-big pairing of Reese and Kamilla Cardoso.

For the hosts, Clark was not only a near-unanimous Rookie of the Year pick but also No. 4 in MVP voting. Her Fever should be fiercely competitive with one more leap — they improved from 13-27 to an even 20-20 record in the inaugural Clark-aissance. Aliyah Boston is a well-rounded big with two All-Star nods in two seasons. Kelsey Mitchell is one of the league’s steadiest 3-point shooters, and she can take on lead-option work whenever Clark is bottled up. New signings DeWanna Bonner and Natasha Howard have won a combined five WNBA Finals. Indy will go as far as Clark can (which could be out of the stratosphere), but it’s not just a one-woman show.

Best player to wear both jerseys: Candice Dupree, who earned an All-Star nod with each team.

Sabreena Merchant’s power rankings:

Chicago (No. 6) — “The most interesting part of Chicago will be how Reese and Cardoso grow and how they play together. Vandersloot’s playmaking is necessary to unlock the partnership between the two bigs. Plus, Vandersloot seems particularly motivated after being de-emphasized during the postseason in New York’s title run. She can help the Sky succeed in the present and build their foundation for the future.”

Indiana (No. 4) — “Let’s not bury the lede here. The Fever had last season’s best offense in the WNBA after the All-Star break but the third-worst defense, even though they often got to set their defense after making a basket on the other end. Indiana cannot have realistic title hopes unless that unit gets into the top six. Recent champions, including the 2019 Mystics and the 2022 Aces, also had sixth-ranked defenses with historically good offenses, which is a reasonable path for the Fever.

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How Indiana puts it all together will be one of the most fascinating questions of this season. The fulcrum of its offense in 2024 was the Caitlin Clark/Aliyah Boston pick-and-roll, with Kelsey Mitchell working off the ball. Now, Bonner and Howard will require touches, and the Fever have to find minutes for Lexie Hull after she set the league on fire during last season’s second half. Having more options is a better problem, but it’s nonetheless a riddle to sort through.”

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