Debate surrounding Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark and Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese for the WNBA’s Rookie of the Year Award continues to heat up, with past legends entering the conversation to provide their opinions on the race.
The next WNBA legend to insert their thoughts on the topic is Sue Bird. She played for 20 years as she won four championships while being a 13-time All-Star. She was one of the best three-point shooters the league has ever seen, making 39.2% of her attempts from downtown throughout her career.
It was only inevitable for the conversation regarding Clark and Reese to catch up to Bird. This was the case earlier today when she spoke with U.S. women’s soccer legend Megan Rapinoe on a panel, answering a question about the race for WNBA Rookie of the Year. Her and Rapinoe were in agreement on their answers about the race.
Considering the way Bird played when she was in the league, it may be easy to see why she would go with Caitlin Clark. The Indiana Fever rookie is very perimeter-oriented, not afraid to take shots from beyond the arc. She is making 2.7 of her 8.3 attempts from deep per game this season, good for an accuracy of 32.7%.
Clark also has the all-around edge, putting up 17.1 points to go with 8.2 assists and 5.8 rebounds. On the other hand, Reese is averaging 13.5 points and 11.9 rebounds per game as a double-double machine, making it difficult for fans to find a clear-cut decision.
That is what makes for great competition. With Clark and Reese resuming their rivalry from college, it makes all the more sense for these two to be neck-and-neck for an award meant for the best rookie.
With Bird making her stance clear, all that Clark needs to do to get past Reese for the award is to keep playing the way she knows how: doing whatever it takes to make sure her team succeeds while playing great herself.
