Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese have only one focus at the moment, and it’s not the WNBA Rookie of the Year title.
On August 30, Clark’s Indiana Fever defeated Reese’s Chicago Sky 100-81 in their final regular-season game. Despite the lopsided score, both 22-year-old players achieved significant milestones: Clark set a career-high with 31 points and 12 assists, while Reese became the first WNBA rookie to record 23 double-doubles in a season, finishing with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
As Clark and Reese continue breaking records, WNBA fans are hotly debating which of them deserves this year’s Rookie of the Year award—an argument that Clark isn’t interested in entertaining. “I think Angel and I would both say the same thing,” Clark said during a post-game press conference. “You don’t wake up thinking about individual awards. I know everyone assumes we do, but we don’t, and people want to make it about that.”
Clark emphasized that both teams are focused solely on securing a spot in the playoffs, which include the top eight WNBA teams. “That’s our main focus,” Clark said, calling it “selfish” to worry about personal accolades. Currently, the Indiana Fever are sixth in the league, while the Chicago Sky hold the eighth and final playoff spot. “Caring about an individual award is selfish.”
“I’m sure Angel would say the exact same thing—she probably already has,” Clark added. “So, while people can write about it, our priority is winning basketball games. It’s as simple as that, just like when we were in college.”
She continued, “If you’re playing for individual awards at any level, you’re doing it wrong. That’s not fun, and it’s not being a good teammate.”
Clark was right about Reese’s perspective. When asked about the Rookie of the Year race in her press conference, the Chicago Sky rookie echoed Clark’s sentiments. “We don’t care about Rookie of the Year,” Reese told reporters. “I think you all have made it a big deal. We haven’t.”
Reese added, “We both want to win. We’ve always wanted to win, and that’s what we’ve done in our college careers. We’ve faced each other in March Madness the last two years, and now we’re doing whatever it takes to win. That’s what matters right now.”
It seems that whenever Clark and Reese compete—or even play on the same team—they are asked to comment on their supposed rivalry. The only thing left is to discuss it on Angel Reese’s upcoming podcast, *Unapologetically Angel.* If Clark were ever a guest, X.com might just crash.
