"Thanks for the Nike ad" - Caitlin Clark fires back at Kelsey Plum after her thoughtless Instagram post

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"Thanks for the Nike ad" - Caitlin Clark fires back at Kelsey Plum after her thoughtless Instagram post originally appeared on Basketball Network.
The rivalry between Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark and Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese has helped the WNBA reach the popularity it has today. Some even compared them to Magic Johnson and Larry Bird, who brought their college competition from the college ranks to the pros and revolutionized the NBA.
But while the Clark-Reese rivalry remains as strong as ever, the former may be building another one with Kelsey Plum.
During last season's WNBA All-Star Game, Plum earned notoriety for picking up Clark full court on defense, despite it being an exhibition game. She explained why she did it, and Clark's fans seemed to have accepted her reasoning. But in recent weeks, the two have been going back and forth, although with words and off the court only.
The most recent one was Clark commenting on an Instagram post by Plum.
Plum had the Swoosh on her Instagram post
After the All-Star weekend in Indiana, every All-Star was talking about their experience on social media. Plum herself did it with an Instagram post captioned, "What a weekend." But perhaps innocently, she did not realize that in the background of her photo was the Nike logo, and Clark was quick to point that out to her.
Plum used to be a Nike athlete, but in 2022, she jumped ship and signed with Under Armour after five years with the Swoosh brand. She wore the "Plumberry" colorway of UA Breakthru 5 shoes during Saturday's WNBA All-Star game.
Meanwhile, Clark is Nike's top WNBA athlete, whom they re-signed to a $28 million multi-year deal in April 2024. She wears PEs of Kobe Bryant's shoes, and she's debuted a handful in the last couple of months. For the All-Star game, Clark paraded a new Kobe 5 Protro PE.
Related: Dave Portnoy says anybody who doesn't think WNBA players deserve a salary raise is a moron: "This is marketing and the ability to make money on this league"
Plum took a swipe at Clark's team
Clark's comment may have been a revenge for what Plum said about her one day earlier.
Reporters asked Plum about the All-Stars wearing a black T-shirt printed with "Pay us what you owe us" at the front. After explaining how they ended up wearing the shirt, she took a jab at Clark by saying that zero members of her team were present at the players' meeting.
Sabrina Ionescu, who was on the podium with her, was unimpressed with her bringing that up.
"That really needed to be mentioned," she said sarcastically.
Earlier this season, Plum told a fan wearing a Clark T-shirt inside Crypto.com Arena to "do better" before giving her a Los Angeles Sparks shirt and taking a picture with her. A week earlier, when the Sparks faced the Fever, she also tried to get the referees to call a technical foul on Clark, who didn't play but was standing and talking on the Indiana bench.
It looked like both Plum and Clark were laughing after the "snitching" incident, and everything seemed to be friendly banter between two WNBA stars. Still, this thing between them could be low-key becoming a new rivalry in the league.
Related: "It was a very powerful moment" - Kelsey Plum explained why the WNBA All-Stars decided to wear "Pay us what you owe us" shirts during warmups
This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Jul 21, 2025, where it first appeared.