The WNBA Rookie of the Year race is being hotly debated with the two faces of the 2024 WNBA Rookie class – Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese. Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy doesn’t understand why the two are still being debated over, with Clark sealing the ROTY in his eyes after their head-to-head matchup on Saturday where Clark’s Indiana Fever beat Reese’s Chicago Sky 110-81.
“I keep hearing people talk about the Rookie of the Year race. I thought we put this to rest this weekend when Clark went into Chicago into Angel Reese’s building, beat them by a 100, and Caitlin checked out of the game with 5 minutes left… Clark was on the sideline signing Angel Reese Barbie paraphernalia while Reese was in the game trying to scramble for a fraudulent double-double.”
Portnoy went on to compare Clark to Stephen Curry while relegating Reese to a Dennis Rodman comparison due to his rebounding and defensive ability.
“Not everyone is Steph Curry… Some people are a poor man’s, Dennis Rodman… [Angel Reese] rebounds. She does nothing else. Caitlin Clark does it all. So why do we keep comparing these two?… They’re not in the same sentence.”
The media needs to stop comparing Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese. Its unfair and cruel pic.twitter.com/mfD3GW4veS
— Dave Portnoy (@stoolpresidente) September 2, 2024
I hate agreeing with Portnoy, but he is bang-on in this case. The WNBA Rookie of the Year race shouldn’t be a contest, with Clark ahead of Reese on every objective metric outside rebounding.
Clark is averaging 18.7 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 8.4 assists on 42.4% from the field and 34.1% from three. Reese cannot even come close to that offensive production, averaging 13.3 points and 13.1 rebounds on a pitiful 38.5% from the field
Reese being noticeably worse than Clark isn’t an indictment on her ability as a player, as she unquestionably is one of the best rookies the league has seen in recent years. But she is definitely not the best rookie the league has seen, with Clark comfortably ahead of her in terms of both production and winning impact this season.
This ROTY debate has started to factor in a lot of non-basketball elements, with the races of both players constantly coming up between the fanbases, something which has been going on since their NCAA battles where Reese’s LSU defeated Clark’s Iowa Hawkeyes to win the 2023 NCAA title.
Reese will likely shatter a lot more rookie rebounding records before the season ends, just like how Clark will shatter scoring and assists records. They’re both phenomenal players and will be the faces of the league in the coming years if they haven’t already been elevated to that level.
It shouldn’t be controversial to recognize Clark as the better player this season and wholly deserving of Rookie of the Year. Reese will get better offensively as the seasons pass on, but clearly stat-padding for double-doubles while shooting under 40% as a post player shouldn’t be what earns her the ROTY award.
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