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The WNBA is riding the front of the crest of a tidal wave of momentum, as fan interest spiked to an all-time high last year. That momentum is largely expected to continue when the new season tips off just days from now.
Caitlin Clark, last season’s Rookie of the Year, is the biggest reason why the WNBA is hot right now. She headlines a new crop of stars, which includes Angel Reese, the runner-up in the 2024 Rookie of the Year balloting, who have entered the league dating back to last year and will take women’s basketball into a potential golden era.
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According to BetMGM, Clark is barely ahead of A’Ja Wilson of the Las Vegas Aces in terms of the highest odds of winning this season’s MVP award. Reese, meanwhile, doesn’t seem to be in the running for the award.
Clark started the surge in popularity for women’s basketball during the 2023-24 season with the Iowa Hawkeyes. That year, she became the NCAA’s all-time women’s career leader in scoring, and she later surpassed Pete Maravich to lead both women and men in that category.
As the No. 1 pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft, she then averaged 19.2 points and a league-high 8.4 assists a game with the Indiana Fever while taking them to the playoffs for the first time since 2016.
Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) dribbles against Atlanta Dream guard Te-Hina Paopao (2).Dale Zanine-Imagn Images
Her dynamic style of play has been compared to that of Stephen Curry, the living legend of the NBA’s Golden State Warriors, and she still has lots of room for improvement.
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Clark’s rivalry with Reese, who plays for the Chicago Sky, has been compared to that of Hall of Famers Magic Johnson and Larry Bird. The two first met in the 2023 NCAA women’s national championship game, which Reese’s LSU Tigers won by 17 points. In the Elite Eight the following year, Clark’s Hawkeyes got their revenge over LSU with a 94-87 win, thanks to Clark’s 41 points and 12 assists.
Reese averaged 13.6 points and 13.1 rebounds a game last year in the WNBA, and, like Clark, she was named to the All-Star team.
While the Sky are still on the ground floor of a rebuilding project, the Fever are expected to be in the mix for this year’s WNBA championship.
Related: Atlanta Dream Rookie Sends Clear Message on Caitlin Clark After Loss
