WNBA legend Sheryl Swoopes recently spoke on her podcast, “Queens of the Court,” sharing her take on the league’s Rookie of the Year debate between Chicago Sky rookie Angel Reese and Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark.
Clark entered the league as the No. 1 overall pick. She left college as the NCAA’s all-time leading scorer for both men’s and women’s basketball, with 3,951 points in her four-year career.
She was seen as the unanimous pick to be taken as the first player in the draft, with many analysts deeming the 22-year-old as a “generational talent.”
The first-year star has lived up to the hype, but some people, like Swoopes, believe she hasn’t exceeded expectations.
“I think Caitlin [Clark] has done, I think, exactly what was expected of her with Indiana. The reason why they drafted her. What the expectations were, and I think she’s done just that,” Swoopes said.
Clark and Reese are competing in one of the closest WNBA Rookie of the Year debates the league has ever seen. Both players have posted incredible numbers, some of which have resulted in WNBA records.
Reese has the record for the league’s most consecutive double-doubles, with 15 straight double-doubles between June and July.
She’s currently averaging 13.5 points and 11.9 rebounds.
Clark became the only rookie in WNBA history to record a triple-double against the New York Liberty in July. She recorded 19 points, 13 assists, and 12 rebounds.
The former Iowa Hawkeyes star is averaging 17.1 points per game while leading the league with 8.2 assists per game.
However, Swoopes believes that what Reese has been able to accomplish with her supporting cast is more impressive than what Clark has done, citing that the Fever very well may have been a playoff contender without Clark on the roster.
“Is Indiana in the playoffs right now, without Caitlin?…When you look at the overall team, like the pieces that they have, without question, Indiana has better players than Chicago from top to bottom. No doubt about it,” Swoopes added.
Given Clark’s responsibility to make an immediate impact in the WNBA, Swoopes believes Reese’s unexpected success in leading the Sky to a potential playoff spot warrants the WNBA’s Rookie of the Year award.
The Sky currently stands as the No. 8 seed in the WNBA rankings with a 10-14 record.
There are plenty of games left on the schedule, but the top eight teams in the WNBA standings make the postseason, and Reese has surely been the best player on the roster throughout the year.
