Who truly is the greatest of all time? Which team is overrated? Who’s a sleeper?
These sports queries always stir conversation.
But there’s one topic in the WNBA with no room for argument. On Friday night, Fever guard Caitlin Clark left no doubt that she’s the WNBA’s undisputed Rookie of the Year.
The No. 1 overall pick scored a career-high 31 points to go with 12 assists. It was her 11th double-double and third game with at least 25 points and 10 assists — the most in a season in WNBA history. Sky forward Angel Reese had her 23rd double-double — surpassing the rookie record set by Tina Charles — with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
But what separates Clark from Reese is the Fever’s place in the standings.
Since the second week in June, the Fever have had the best offense in the league. It has helped power them past the Mercury and into sixth place.
“We don’t wake up and think about individual awards,” Clark said ahead of the Fever’s 100-81 rout of the Sky. “I know that’s what all of you think we do. We don’t. That’s what everybody wants to make this about, but both of our teams are competing for playoff spots. That’s our main focus.
“[Reese] would give you the same exact answer.”
Ahead of the game, Reese shared her version of the same response.
“You guys have made it a big thing,” Reese said. “We haven’t.”
Of course, they haven’t. Players and coaches usually don’t.
Michael Jordan doesn’t waste time debating his GOAT credentials.
Those debates are left up to the pundits and fans, but, make no mistake, the award and its place in WNBA history do matter to the competitors.
The race this season has been unprecedented from the start, beginning with Reese being selected with the seventh overall pick. In the last 20 years, only four players selected outside the lottery have been named Rookie of the Year. The award has gone to the No. 1 pick 14 times in its 26-year history.
Reese’s motor has earned her comparisons to Hall of Famer Dennis Rodman. Her relentlessness is her greatest asset, and it has led to her record-setting stats, which had her in the conversation for Rookie of the Year.
Earlier in the season, she set a WNBA record for most consecutive double-doubles in a season with 15, surpassing three-time WNBA champion Candace Parker, who held the previous record with 13. She’s the first player in WNBA history with three consecutive games of 20 or more rebounds. She’s the first rookie in Sky history — which includes 2013 Rookie of the Year Elena Delle Donne and WNBA MVP Sylvia Fowles — with at least 20 points and 15 rebounds in a game. At 12.9, Reese is on pace to break the WNBA mark for rebounds per game in a season held by Fowles (11.9).
Reese’s area of concern has been her shooting. She is shooting a league-worst 43.8% on shots within five feet. By comparison, the league average on those shots is 59.6%.
The BetGM Sportsbook has Clark’s odds of winning the award at minus-5,000, making her a lock in its eyes. There’s good reason for it, too. In case you still need convincing, the Fever went 3-1 against the Sky.
Clark averaged 20.5 points and 10 assists in those games. Reese averaged 13.5 points and 13.3 rebounds.
“We wanted to win the season series against them,” Clark said Friday. “That was kind of a focal point.”
Clark’s individual accomplishments include becoming the first rookie with a triple-double in league history. She set a WNBA assist record with 19 in the Fever’s loss to the Wings on July 17. She already has the rookie three-point record (93) with eight games left in the regular season. Clark is the only rookie in her class with multiple games of at least 20 points and 10 assists. She also possesses the all-time record for assists by a rookie with 225. She will become the third player in WNBA history to lead the league with at least eight assists per game if she maintains her pace, joining Courtney Vandersloot and Ticha Penicheiro.
But she also leads the league in turnovers with 174. Against the Sky, she had three, one higher than what Fever coach Christie Sides would call a success.
“Turnovers are never OK,” Sides said Friday. “But the way she plays, you have to give her a little grace. She has a vision that sees things that sometimes other players on the court just don’t see. Sometimes they’re just not ready. That’s where we’ve grown. Our players are really starting to understand what she sees and put themselves in those positions.”
Against the Sky at Wintrust Arena, Clark played with a confidence that was admired and detested during her four years at Iowa. It’s generating the same response in the WNBA.
At one point in the waning minutes, a fan mocked Clark for airballing a three-point shot. Standing just a few feet away, Clark smiled and pointed to the scoreboard.
The moment highlighted the key difference in the rookie race: The Fever are a much better team than the Sky, and Clark is the reason.