Chicago Sky take the best path forward to defeat Fever, Caitlin Clark

The Chicago Sky held the No. 3 and 7 picks at Monday night's WNBA draft. They took advantage of who was on the board to create a power duo — that features top draft pick Caitlin Clark's biggest challengers throughout college.

The Sky picked South Carolina star Kamilla Cardoso at No. 3, a dominant rebounder, scorer, and defensive topper. Shortly after that, they picked Angel Reese at No. 7, giving them the two most elite rebounders in this year's draft class.

The two are also teaming up with new head coach Teresa Weatherspoon.

Chicago Sky are ready to challenge the Indiana Fever

However, it is hard not to think about how the Sky will look now compared to other rebuilding teams, like the Indiana Fever after taking Clark.

The Sky will be intimidating to the Fever as Cardoso and Reese both have a history against Clark and hold the upper hand in some recent matchups.

Reese and Clark have a history against one another in March Madness. The first game was the 2023 NCAA Championship, where Reese beat Clark and Iowa 102-85. The two teams had a rematch in this year's Elite Eight, where Clark was able to respond and score 41 points to lead Iowa to the Final Four with the win. Before all of that, though, the two competed against one another in AAU. While many speculate that the two have a rivalry, they always make sure to inform the media that they are friends and love competing against each other on the court.

Cardoso was the ring leader of the national champion Gamecocks, who routed Iowa in this year's championship game. While Clark had a 30-point performance in her last college game, Cardoso still came out on top, finishing the perfect season and spoiling Clark from finishing it all. That day, Cardoso had a career-high 17 rebounds and completed the comeback after they lost all five starters from last season's squad, a team that lost to the Hawkeyes in the national semifinals the year before.

While the history goes back between the new Sky rookies and Clark, it goes even deeper between Reese and Cardoso.

Prior to the draft, the two consistently saw high-profile SEC matchups. Reese even showed her animosity towards Cardoso in games. Many would say that the two had a rivalry as they were among the most prominent bigs in college basketball.

Reese averaged 18.6 points and 12.3 rebounds throughout her collegiate career and shot 49.8 percent from the field. Cardoso was a standout as well, averaging 10.6 points and 7.9 rebounds per game.

The combined force of the two should significantly enhance the team's performance and turn around the organization. Even though the previous rivalry ran deep, they now can turn it into a powerful alliance for the Sky.

Clark is all the talk now, but once the season begins, all eyes will be on Reese and Cardoso as their transition from rivals to teammates evolves.