Why Indiana Fever Star Caitlin Clark Just Locked Up Rookie of the Year

Why did Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark just lock up the WNBA Rookie of the Year award?

Aug 30, 2024; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) brings the ball up court against the Chicago Sky during the first half at Wintrust Arena. / Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports

Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever ended up dominating Angel Reese and the Chicago Sky last night by a final score of 100-81. It was a big win as the Fever continue pushing towards a spot in the playoffs.

Of course, with that matchup comes a head-to-head game between Clark and Reese. Fans love to tune in for those games.

The two star roookies have been competing for the Rookie of the Year award. Much of the national media has been pushing Reese for the award due to her double-double streak. However, last night, Clark put an end to any debate that should be had.

First and foremost, Clark has led Indiana to winning. Reese, on the other hand, has been unable to do so and the Sky have slipped to four and a half games behind the Fever.

Then comes the fact that Clark is simply playing better than her counterpart.

Looking at the season numbers after last night's game, Clark is averaging 18.4 points, 8.3 assists, 5.7 rebounds, and 1.4 steals per game to go along with shooting 41.9 percent from the floor and 33.7 percent from three-point range.

On the other side of the competition, Reese is averaging 13.2 points, 12.9 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 1.3 steals. She is shooting 38.6 percent from the floor.

Everything but rebounds has been dominated by Clark. Since when has a big award been deciding by rebounds? That nonsense needs to stop.

No one is going to take away from Reese's game. She's a quality center who has made a major impact for Chicago. But to even insinuate that she deserves the award over Clark, who has simply been much better than Reese, is just not accurate.

One more thing that needs to be talked about is how Reese is putting up her numbers.

Last night's game was a prime example of the stat padding that the Sky have tried to do for Reese.

The game had been fully decided and Clark was pulled off the court with just a couple of minutes left. The Fever pulled thir entire starting lineup from the game.

As for the Sky, they left Reese on the court and started having her go to work on offense. She hadn't reached her double-double yet. Even in a 20-point blowout with a minute left, Reese was in the game trying to add statistics.

A simple look at the numbers tells most of the story, but the way the two players are putting them up is also important.

Clark deserves the Rookie of the Year award. If the WNBA passes her over for Reese, it will be one of the most unfair decisions in major professional sports.