Caitlin Clark vs. Angel Reese WNBA Rookie of the Year Race Receives Big Development

The 2024 WNBA Draft class is special. Headlined by Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark and Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese, this rookie class has helped build on the league's momentum in recent years and has taken it to new heights.

This excitement has been magnified by the WNBA Rookie of the Year race between Clark and Reese, as it seems to take a new turn each week. While Clark has been the favorite to win the award for most of the season, Reese has put together a compelling case, breaking the WNBA record for most consecutive double-doubles in a loss to the Seattle Storm on Sunday.

While Reese made history, the loss dropped Chicago below Indiana in the WNBA standings, which is especially relevant amid recent discussions:

This post on X from Clark Report is taking a direct shot at ESPN analyst Monica McNutt, who recently argued that Reese is Rookie of the Year due to Chicago's positioning over Indiana in the WNBA standings.

The take from McNutt went viral online, as it has generated over 26 million views on just the initial post from ESPN's Get Up page on X:

This logic from McNutt is very flawed, because not only was the difference between Indiana and Chicago in the standings incredibly marginal, but this has never been how Rookie of the Year is decided.

Few Rookie of the Year candidates have the opportunity to compete for winning teams, as there is a reason their organization was in the position to draft them so high. This is why winning is rarely factored into Rookie of the Year debates, and certainly not a half-game difference in the standings like what existed between Indiana and Chicago at the time of McNutt's claim.

Furthermore, the Fever have seen a jump in winning percentage from last season to this season, while the Sky have actually dropped in that category:

After play on Sunday, Chicago owns a .400 winning percentage, which is worse than the .450 mark they posted last season. As for Indiana, their .409 winning percentage is now not only better than Chicago's, but significantly better than their .325 mark from last season.

All of this shows why McNutt's argument was beyond flawed, but as Clark fans have been pointing out following Chicago's latest loss, those who use winning percentage in the Rookie of the Year debate must now acknowledge Clark's Fever overtaking Reese's Sky in the WNBA standings.

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