Caitlin Clark or Angel Reese: Who should win WNBA Rookie of the Year?

The WNBA has enjoyed an influx of attention during the 2024 campaign, which can largely be attributed to the polarizing rookie class that entered the league. Catilin Clark and Angel Reese opposed each other in big games during their college careers, and find themselves vying for Rookie of the Year honors. Which player deserves it more heading into the Olympic break? All statistics are sourced from Basketball Reference.

Fox Sports noted that Clark is a -1050 favorite to win the award as of the middle of July. This would put her as the presumptive favorite, and there are a lot of reasons why she might come away with the honor.

The Indiana Fever got off to a 1-8 start to the season, leading fans to wonder how much of an impact Clark could have in her first WNBA season. Things have gone much better after the tumultuous beginning, as they proceeded to win 10 out of their next 15 contests.

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Clark told ESPN after a victory against the Minnesota Lynx on July 14 that the Fever found a way to win. Considering that Clark is the primary offensive initiator, this indicates that she herself is finding ways to make winning plays when they matter most.

Speaking of getting the offense going, Clark has been one of the best players in the WNBA when it comes to setting her teammates up for easy baskets. It makes sense given the amount of defensive attention she commands, but Clark has been near or at the top of the assists per game rankings all year.

Marca believes that Clark is already the best passer in the WNBA, while Sports Illustrated has called out this particular skill in her rookie campaign.

Yahoo Sports called out that Clark is the first rookie in WNBA history to record multiple 20 point, 10 assist performances in their first professional season. Clark’s candidacy might be buoyed by a ton of “firsts”, never before seen in the league.

Not only are Clark and the Fever winning at a greater rate these days; Clark is also serving up some viral moments with her ballhandling. She’s made a couple of defenders fall with tight crossovers, which has been seen over and over again. This will aid in the perception that she truly has been the best rookie in the entire league.

With all of that said on behalf of Caitlin Clark, there’s also a bunch of momentum on Angel Reese’s side when it comes to winning Rookie of the Year. Fox Sports tabbed her with +600 odds to win, but it seems like she might be closing the gap with each passing week.

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Of course, the most easily attributable accomplishment Angel Reese has notched in her rookie season so far has been the double-double streak. She set a WNBA record by posting at least 10 points and 10 rebounds in 15 straight games. It’s a neatly-packaged stat that rolls off the tongue when it comes to Reese’s production in the paint.

The feat is almost more impressive when considering that Reese wasn’t supposed to be snaring all these rebounds so quickly. The Chicago Sky took center Kamilla Cardoso a few spots ahead of Reese in the 2024 WNBA Draft. The 6’7” Cardoso hasn’t quite been the force on the boards that the 6’3” Reese has, however.

As has been much discussed, the New York Liberty put four-players on Reese in the closing seconds of a July 13 game to prevent the rookie from scoring her ninth and tenth points to continue the streak. Fox Sports called it a ruthless ploy by New York, and Larry Brown Sports called Liberty players desperate to end Reese’s streak.

Both Reese and Shaquille O’Neal played their college basketball at LSU, but Sports Illustrated thinks they have more than just that in common. They noted that the only WNBA or NBA player with more double-doubles in their first 22 professional games was O’Neal, who recorded 19 such performances during the 1992-1993 NBA season.

Yahoo Sports has pointed out that Reese has committed far fewer turnovers than Clark during her rookie campaign. They concede that Clark handles the ball way more, which increases her potential for turnovers, but also point out that Reese’s assist to steals ratio is superior to Clark’s midway through the year.

Lauded women’s college basketball coach Dawn Staley said that Angel Reese is without a doubt the Rookie of the year right now in the WNBA, according to the New York Post. Staley said that Caitlin Clark is “coming”, but it is interesting that she thinks the Sky forward has the edge halfway through the season.

Should the WNBA Rookie of the Year award go to Angel Reese or Caitlin Clark? Let us know what you think by leaving a comment!

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