Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark and Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese were the two front-runners for WNBA Rookie of the Year, which is now a one-woman race after Reese announced on Saturday that she would miss the rest of the year due to a season-ending wrist injury.
Though many have made it seem like Clark and Reese have an intense on-court rivalry brewing, both players have maintained there’s no bad blood on either side, speaking positively about the other any chance they got. So it should surprise no one that Clark took the time to point out Reese’s many accomplishments during her rookie season and speak complimentary of her when asked about her injury before Sunday’s matchup with the Atlanta Dream.
“It’s obviously definitely sad anytime you see anyone go down with an injury, especially people you came into this league with, whether it was [Cameron Brink] or it was Angel, especially Angel, like, you want to see her finish out this year,” Clark said, via Chloe Peterson of the Indy Star. “She’s had a historic year, she’s done some incredible things and, for me, getting to play against her, her motor is up there, if not the best in the league – she just doesn’t stop working.
“So, congratulations to her. I thought she had a tremendous year and I thought she came in the league and really did what she’s done well throughout her entire career, as long as I’ve known her. It’s definitely devastating, it’s never anything you want to see from a player.”
Reese finishes her rookie season having set several WNBA records including most consecutive double-doubles (15), most double-doubles by a rookie (26), most single-season rebounds (446), most single-season rebounds per game (13.1) and the most consecutive games with 20 or more rebounds (three).
Clark has gotten the better of Reese head-to-head this season. She went 3-1 against the LSU alum, besting her in points per game (18.9 to 13.3), assists per game (8.4 to 1.8), steals per game (1.4 to 1.3), three-point percentage (.343 to .154) and field-goal percentage (.425 to .384), though Reese held a significant advantage in rebounds per game (13.2 to 5.8).
