ESPN Takes a U-Turn on Caitlin Clark vs Angel Reese by Adding Indiana Fever Rookie to Another List
2024’s “GOAT” WNBA draft class has been like no other. Following two college rivals’ entry into the professional women’s basketball world, just imagine what would have happened had Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark ended up on the same team. But with that strange twist of fate avoided, these two are on par for the Rookie of the Year race. But where ESPN has usually favored the Chicago Sky star over the Indiana Fever phenom, it seems like the tables have turned. And not just on the ROTY award.
Per a recent update, “ESPN writers voted Caitlin Clark as unanimous Rookie of the Year and Unanimous 1st team All WNBA.” So it’s not just the Rookie race that Clark is leading, but she’s now in the All-WNBA first team as well! This comes after the network received heavy criticism in late August for putting Reese above Clark in the ROTY race based on hard numbers.
Then again, Clark has boosted not just the W’s overall visibility but also played a big hand in taking the Fever to the playoffs for the first time since 2016. Meanwhile, Reese has surpassed all expectations and set records for consecutive double-doubles in the WNBA, among other records. ESPN has understandably put her as the No. 1 pick for ROTY for most of the season. But not anymore.
Changing their tune from an August 29 report on the rookie race that had Reese at No. 1 and Clark at No. 2, ESPN seems to have realized the error of their ways. And objectively looking at the overall season, Caitlin Clark has dominantly led the ROTY race and cemented that status after the Fever vs Sky game on Aug 31st. Soon after, Reese’s season ended with a wrist injury, and the common consensus now says the Fever rookie will be the winner.
While each of these women have tremendous accomplishments to their name that deserve recognition, a comparison must be made. As the ESPN analyst and former WNBA star Chiney Ogwumike put it when choosing Clark as her favorite for the award, “She is the Rookie of the Year…That was a close race leading into the Olympics, but right now, she’s on pace to generate the most points in WNBA history…Give that woman her trophy.”
At the same time, she didn’t forget to mention the Sky player either, “Shout out to Angel. I know we have to compare because she’s done some great historical numbers, too, but these numbers are undeniable…Caitlin Clark, Rookie of the Year. There you go. Stop asking me on Twitter.”
Interestingly, while the league pundits are rooting for Caitlin Clark, the Indiana guard herself has given very little thought to the award herself.
“A selfish thing to just care about…”: Caitlin Clark doesn’t hold back on ROTY thoughts
With 10 players on the court, everyone has a job to do. While the end result of the game depends on how each player performs, at the end of the day, it’s the team that wins. And no matter what awards they’re given or not given, the Des Moines native believes the super rookies in the W this year are more focused on the whole rather than singular.
“You don’t wake up and think about individual awards. I know that’s what all of you think we do. I know we don’t. That’s what everybody wants to make this about,” Clark said in a pre-game interview vs the final season clash with Chicago. “Both of our teams are competing for playoff spots, that’s our main focus. That’s a selfish thing to just care about an individual award. And she would give you the same exact answer…If you’re playing basketball to win individual awards, no matter what level you’re at, you’re doing it wrong.”
It seems only a matter of time before the individual awards are announced, but for Caitlin Clark, pushing her team for a deep playoff run, in almost a decade, is what matters most right now. Awards will come and go, but how can she best help her team win seems to be the question on her mind.
