WNBA: Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese both worthy of Rookie of the Year

The 2024 Rookie of the Year Award is going to be settled between the Indiana Fever’s Caitlin Clark and the Chicago Sky’s Angel Reese. The hottest rivalry in the league is taking place on individual and team level, which has been a marketing miracle. In a couple of years, this could be the duel to follow for the MVP. Before that happens, let’s focus on the race for the Rookie of the Year award. And what a race it’s been so far…

Caitlin Clark (Indiana Fever)

Caitlin Clark leads all rookies with 16.7 points and 7.8 assists per game, while adding 5.9 rebounds and 1.5 steals. She’s been playing under enormous pressure as one of the most hyped prospects to enter the WNBA. And she’s mostly delivered on her promise. She’s not at her Iowa level—at least not yet—but she already achieved some groundbreaking milestones, like being the fastest player in WNBA history to tally 300 points, 100 rebounds and 100 assists, and the first rookie to record a triple-double. The downside of her rookie year has been turnovers; she’s the league leader with 5.5 per game. If she wins ROY, some people will complain it’s because of her popularity, even though it’ll be ignoring the fact that she’s popular precisely because she’s so good.

Angel Reese (Chicago Sky)

Angel Reese, the woman Shaquille O’Neal called the greatest LSU basketball player ever, regardless of gender, is the steal of the draft. You might be inclined to give that distinction to Kate Martin, the No. 18 overal pick, who’s fit in so nicely with the Las Vegas Aces, but Reese falling all the way to No. 7, while being seriously considered for Rookie of the Year is even crazier than Martin’s play in Las Vegas. Would things work out the same way for Reese on the Los Angeles Sparks, the Dallas Wings or the Washington Mystics? Or is she playing with a chip on her shoulder because five teams passed on her, giving her that extra edge that she used to her advantage at LSU? We’ll never know. But, what we do know is on the Chicago Sky she’s averaging 13.8 points, 11.8 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game. Currently, she’s the best rebounder in the league. If she continues to grab 11.82 boards in each contest for the remainder of the season, she will end up with the third-highest single-season rebounding average in league history, only behind Sylvia Fowles (11.88 in 2018) and Jonquel Jones (11.85 in 2017). On its own, that’s special. ROY worthy? Definitely.

The best of the rest

Unless something special happens, the award will be decided between the above two players. That is a testament to the abilities of Clark and Reese, rather than a repudiation of this draft class’ status. The No. 4 overall pick, Rickea Jackson, is a starter on the Sparks and is third among rookies in points per game with 10.7. Kamilla Cardoso, Reese’s teammate and the No. 3 overall pick, is averaging 8.3 points, 7.9 rebounds and 1.2 blocks, coming back from an injury that kept her out of the first seven games of the season. Aaliyah Edwards (No. 6 overall) and Julia Vanloo (undrafted and WNBA’s oldest rookie at 31 years old) have been solid for the Mystics, with Edwards averaging 8.8 points and



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