Former USA women’s soccer star Megan Rapinoe named a favorite in the WNBA’s top rookie race between Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese, two of the league’s premiere stars. The battle between the Indiana Fever’s No. 1 overall pick and the game’s top first-year post player from the Chicago Sky has carried on from both stars’ respective college careers at Iowa and LSU.
Rapinoe projects Clark, who leads the WNBA in assists, will win the league’s rookie of the year despite Reese setting a new record for consecutive double-doubles this summer.
“I have Caitlin,” Rapinoe said. “She’s leading in all the categories. Assists, turnovers, points (the whole crowd laughs) Do not roast her come on. Don’t roast her, she’s fine… Angel is having an amazing season. Obviously, breaking the double-doubles.
If any rivalry still exists between Reese and Clark, you couldn’t tell it during Team WNBA’s 117-109 win over Team USA last month as the highlight of the WNBA’s All-Star Weekend that featured dazzling performances from the league’s top-two rookies. The pair embraced playing alongside one another and took out a star-studded roster that included WNBA MVP frontrunner Aja Wilson, among others.
One of Clark’s game-high 10 assists went to Reese on a no-look feed that brought the crowd to its feet.
“It’s so cool, I know when she gets the ball I’m running looking for the ball because I know she’s gonna throw it,” Reese said, via Yahoo Sports. “So, she’s been great to play with. I mean, the future — we’re going to be playing with each other a lot. Hopefully, in 4 years we’ll be Olympians together.”
Every time Reese and Clark face-off with one another, it results in a ratings bonanza. Earlier this summer, Clark backhanded the national discourse, saying she’s had enough of the supposed animosity narrative between the two.
“I’m pretty sure the only people that view this as a rivalry is all of you,” Clark succinctly told a reporter before a game against Reese. “Like, to us it’s just a game of basketball.”
Reese shared similar thoughts recently, saying the rivalry is merely a creation and suggests the ferocity shown between the two players is simply due to competition.
“For me, I don’t think people realize it’s not personal,” Reese said. “I think people just take it like we hate each other. Me and Caitlin Clark don’t hate each other. I want everybody to understand that. It’s just a super competitive game. I just wish people would realize that. Once I get between those lines, there’s no friends. … We’re not buddies. I’m going to talk trash to you. I’m going to do whatever it takes to get in your head the whole entire game, but after the game we can kick it. I don’t think people really realize that.”
