WNBA Rookie of the Year candidates Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark have taken the sports world by storm going back to their days of playing college basketball, and it has translated beautifully to the WNBA.
Angel Reese’s LSU Tigers faced off against Caitlin Clark’s Iowa Hawkeyes in the 2023 NCAA Women’s National Championship game which saw LSU take home the crown, with Iowa winning the rematch in the 2024 Elite Eight. The latter game would be the most-watched women’s college basketball game of all-time with a record 12.3 million viewers tuning in, as well as it being ESPN’s largest audience for a college basketball game ever, men’s or women’s.
These two players, through their individual excellence, have helped advance women’s basketball so much in such little time, and are both naturally 1 and 2 in the WNBA’s Rookie of the Year rankings with Clark being in the lead according to experts and even the sportsbooks.
WNBA Rookie of the Year: Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese
The Case for Angel Reese
Angel Reese has been amongst the more dominant bigs in the WNBA, this season. A true rebounding machine, she now owns the record for the most consecutive double-doubles by any player in WNBA history with 15 straight such performances. Basketball legend Candace Parker held the previous record.
Reese is also the leader in offensive rebounds per game with 4.7, as well as leading the WNBA in total rebounds over players like MVP frontrunner A’ja Wilson, Dearica Hamby, etc. She’s also 10th in steals per game in the league at 1.5.
She was even able to have 12 points and 11 rebounds in the WNBA All-Star Game in a win over Team USA, showing that she can truly measure up to the best.
The Case for Caitlin Clark
Caitlyn Clark has been fantastic for the Indiana Fever after being chosen with the 1st-overall pick.
She already owns the Fever’s single-season assists record, had the first triple-double by a rookie in WNBA history, and broke the WNBA’s record for most assists in a game, surpassing Courtney Vandersloot’s previous mark.
Caitlin Clark is also leading the entire NBA in assists and has become a double-double machine as of late, having 7 double-doubles in her last 9 games played. If she maintains her current pace and production, she will have the most assists per game in a single season as well, her current 8.2 assists per game being higher than Ticha Penicheiro’s 7.5 assists per game in 1998.
Aside from the numbers, which includes leading all rookies in scoring, she’s giving contributing to more wins for the Fever. Indiana is already two wins from match their record from last season, a will likely finish with their best record since 2016. They also have quality wins over New York and Minnesota, two of the best teams in the league.
The Verdict
You cannot deny what both ladies bring to their teams and the sport as a whole. Great young players who have proven themselves to be stars and can lead the league into the future for years to come.
When you factor in numbers, wins, impact, and everything else, it is very difficult to deny Caitlin Clark. Though, if Angel Reese can somehow be better in the second half of the season, we could see a swing if Caitlin can’t keep up what she’s been doing.
Something also not out of the realm of possibility, is we could see something just like what was seen in the NBA in 1995, where rookie phenoms Grant Hill and Jason Kidd were the Co-Rookies of the Year. That could be far-fetched, but just a thought.
For sports, cannabis, music and other engaging content, visit Respect My Region.
