"Begging for attention" - NBA fans roast Kyle Kuzma for calling Angel Reese's hard foul on Caitlin Clark "a basketball play"

Washington Wizards forward Kyle Kuzma countered the backlash surrounding the latest hard foul on Indiana Fever rookie sensation Caitlin Clark on Sunday. Kuzma's take prompted harsh reactions from NBA fans, who accused him of attention-seeking.

With Indiana leading the Chicago Sky 63-62 late in the third quarter, Clark drove to the basket for a layup attempt. Sky rookie forward Angel Reese ran over to help contest the shot, committing a hard foul.

Reese hit Clark across the face with her right elbow, sending her tumbling to the ground. The play was reviewed and upgraded to a Flagrant 1 foul, with Clark receiving two free throws and the Fever securing an extra possession.

Nonetheless, the foul sparked online discussions about Clark continuing to receive harsh treatment from her opponents, particularly the Sky. During Indiana's 71-70 victory over Chicago on June 1, the star guard was also the victim of a contentious hard foul from Sky guard Chennedy Carter.

Following Reese's flagrant foul on Sunday, Barstool Sports' Dave Portnoy took to X/Twitter to call out her and her team for playing dirty.

"Shocker. Angel Reese and the Sky doing Angel Reese and Sky stuff. By the way, Caitlin is cooking them," Portnoy said.

However, Kuzma saw no issue with the controversial play and instead took a shot at Portnoy.

"Bozo, this is a basketball play," Kuzma said.

Most fans on X disagreed with the one-time NBA champion, citing the excessive nature of Reese's foul.

"Catching an elbow is a basketball play?" @kobethe_goat24 said.

"Nah, that was about as dirty as Flint's water, brother," @Heated_tv said.

Meanwhile, others suggested that Kuzma was trying to stir up additional controversy, noting that he wouldn't have tolerated a similar foul against himself.

"Begging for attention," @cass_wavey said.

"If I did this to you on the court, you would be swinging. Come on, bro," @orangetiger70 said.

A couple of fans even claimed that Kuzma would have been in tears if he was in Caitlin Clark's place.

"You’re the same dude to cry and tell after you get up, though," @RipsAndSlips said.

"You would cry about this in a game, LOL," @TheReal870Dai said.

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Caitlin Clark agrees with Kyle Kuzma's assessment of Angel Reese's flagrant foul

Following Angel Reese's hard foul on Caitlin Clark, the Fever secured a 91-83 home victory over the Sky, marking their first winning streak this season.

Clark led the way, tallying a game-high 23 points, eight rebounds, nine assists, seven 3-pointers and two blocks on 63.6% shooting. She outplayed Reese, who recorded a double-double with 11 points and 13 rebounds but shot just 30.8%.

After the contest, Clark touched on Reese's flagrant foul. While fans didn't appreciate the play, like Kyle Kuzma, she didn't take exception to it.

“It’s just part of basketball. It is what it is," Clark said. " She was trying to make a play on the ball and get the block."

With Sunday's victory, Caitlin Clark and Indiana (5-10) improved to 2-0 against Chicago (4-9) this season. The Fever will look to extend their overall winning streak to three games when they host the league-worst Washington Mystics (2-12) on Wednesday.

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