When the WNBA season began, there wasn’t much separating the Fever from the Sky.
In fact, the Sky went into the Olympic break just one game behind the Fever in the standings. Both teams are marked by their youth and inexperience, with rookies tasked with leading the teams into the future. On the one side, there is the No. 1 overall pick Caitlin Clark. On the other, the third and seventh picks, Kamilla Cardoso and Angel Reese, respectively.
However, since returning from the four-week hiatus, the Fever have found their footing while the Sky continue to stumble. The game that was separating them before the break has ballooned to 3½ ahead of the teams’ final matchup Friday at Wintrust Arena.
Since returning to play, the Fever are 4-1, with wins over the Sun and Storm. The Sky are 1-4, with a win over the last-place Sparks; their most recent loss came against the 10th-place Mystics.
“We’re not down and out,” Sky coach Teresa Weatherspoon said after Wednesday’s loss. “We’re not happy we didn’t win, but we’re not down and out. It’s not over for us unless we say it is.”
The “it” Weatherspoon is referring to is the Sky’s sixth consecutive playoff berth. Meanwhile, the Fever are looking to make their first postseason appearance since 2016, the final season of WNBA MVP and champion Tamika Catchings.
The game Friday appeared as if it would have heavy playoff implications. The league’s primary tiebreaker is head-to-head record, and the Fever have a 2-1 advantage over the Sky. The second tiebreaker is determined by winning percentage against teams with a .500 or better record.
There’s another point of emphasis in the game: the race for rookie of the year.
Clark and Reese have dominated the discussions throughout the season. With less than a month remaining, there is no one else who can crack the conversation as both players continue to make history.
Clark set the WNBA’s rookie record for three-pointers in a season with her 88th Wednesday against the Sun. She set the rookie record for assists in the win over the Storm on Aug. 18. On July 17 she set a new single-game assist record — not just the rookie record — with 19 in the Fever’s loss to the Wings. On July 6, she had the first triple-double for a rookie in WNBA history. She currently has 21 games with at least 15 points and five assists, a leaguewide record.
Reese, meanwhile, is just one double-double away from the WNBA’s single-season rookie record. Her 22 double-doubles are tied with Tina Charles’ rookie record set in 2010. In July, Reese broke the WNBA record for most consecutive double-doubles in league history with 13 and extended the streak to 15. Last week she became the first player in WNBA history to have at least 20 rebounds in consecutive games and then extended it to three games with her 22 rebounds in the Sky’s loss to the Aces.
Shaquille O’Neal was the last NBA rookie to post back-to-back 20-rebound games in 1993.
Reese recently told Complex in an interview promoting her new podcast “Unapologetically” that she’s “not focused” on individual accolades.
“I’m focused on our team and what we need to do collectively to win,” Reese said.
Clark is averaging 18 points, a league-best 8.1 assists and 5.7 rebounds. Reese, meanwhile, is averaging 13.3 points and a league-best 12.9 rebounds.
Clark is the heavy favorite for the award. However, Reese could change that with a dominant performance and a needed Sky win.