Clark, Reese Emerge As Front-Runners For WNBA's Rookie Of The Year Award

The Indiana Fever’s Caitlin Clark and the Chicago Sky’s Angel Reese are having historic seasons in the Women’s National Basketball Association—which is why they are the front runners for the Rookie of the Year award.

Clark is currently favored to win ROY, despite holding the WNBA record for turnovers in a season by a wide margin (5.5 per game, 155 total turnovers). Her scoring and playmaking skills make up for it, though.

Don’t count out Reese, though. The Bayou Barbie entered the league as a rebounding force to be reckoned with. Despite having a low field goal percentage (39.3 percent) for her position, Reese is an integral part of the Sky offense and defense.

Caitlin Clark’s Historic Season

In a July 6 win against the New York Liberty, Clark finished with a triple-double (19 points, 12 rebounds, and 13 assists) to become the first ever rookie in WNBA history to do so.

In Clark’s final game before the Olympic break (July 17), she broke the WNBA single-game assist record with 19 assists against the Dallas Wings.

On Sunday, Aug. 20, Clark set the WNBA’s single-season assists record for a rookie in a 92-75 win over the Seattle Storm. She set the record early in the third quarter after hitting teammate Kelsey Mitchell with a full-court pass. With that pass, Clark completed 225 assists and passed Ticha Penicherio’s record of 224.

A record that had not been broken since 1998—the second year of the WNBA. In 1998, Penicherio took 30 games to set the record. Clark only needed 28.

Clark currently leads all players with 8.3 assists per game.

Angel Reese’s Historic Season

Reese has gotten double-digit rebounds in 22 out of 28 games this season.

Reese broke the rookie record for consecutive double-doubles on June 21 set by Tina Charles (2010) and Cindy Brown (1998). She notched her seventh consecutive double-double with 16 points and 18 rebounds.

On June 30, Reese completed her tenth double-double, surpassing Candace Parker’s single-season record for most consecutive games with a double-double. Reese scored 10 points and nabbed 17 rebounds. Parker set the record at 29 years old; Reese broke it at 22 years old.

A week later on July 7, Reese recorded her thirteenth consecutive double-double, making it the most consecutive double-doubles in WNBA history (Parker's 12 consecutive were between the 2009 and 2010 seasons). She continued to get double-doubles until her streak ended on July 13 at 15.

Sunday, Aug. 18, Reese became the fastest WNBA player to record 20 double-doubles in a season in their 85-65 loss to the Phoenix Mercury. She had a career-high 20 rebounds, and she added 19 points.

Reese followed that up with another 20 rebound night on Aug. 23 against the Connecticut Suns. That night, Reese became the first player in WNBA history to record back-to-back 20-rebound games—and the first WNBA or NBA rookie since Shaquille O’Neal to do so.

Sylvia Fowles and Jonquel Jones are the only other two WNBA players to record multiple 20-rebound games in a single season.

Reese also leads the league with 12.6 rebounds per game—5.1 offensive and 7.5 defensive.

Clark vs. Reese Comparison (as of August 23)

Points: Clark is averaging 17.8 ppg on 41.2 percent from the field and 32.8 percent from the three point line. Reese is averaging 13.6 ppg on 39.3 percent from the field and 20 percent from three (she’s only taken 10 three point attempts).

Efficiency: The player efficiency rating is determined by (Points + Rebounds + Assists + Steals + Blocks) - ((Field Goals Att. - Field Goals Made) + (Free Throws Att. - Free Throws Made). Clark has a 20.1 efficiency rating, and Reese has a 19.3.

Steals: In another close category, Clark has 1.4 steals per game, and Reese has 1.3 steals per game.

Assists: Clark is averaging 8.3 apg, and Reese is averaging 4.9

Rebounds: Clark grabs 5.8 rpg, and Reese grabs 12.6. Clark ranks third amongst rookies in RPG.

There’s a good chance that both Reese and Clark will have a chance to etch their name into the WNBA history books one more time before the end of the season. There are still records to be broken—total rebounds in a season (404) and rookie record for apg (7.5), for example—and games to play.

The WNBA regular season ends on Sept. 19, and the WNBA playoffs begin on Sunday, Sept. 22.

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