ESPN Eats Past Words With Caitlin Clark's WNBA Rookie Ranking
On Wednesday, ESPN released its final updated rookie rankings for the WNBA season.
Some of ESPN's past rookie rankings (including their most recent one before Wednesday) have been heavily criticized — especially among Caitlin Clark fans — because they had Chicago Sky rookie Angel Reese slotted above Clark, citing Reese's advantage over Clark in advanced metrics like win shares (WS) and PER (Player Efficiency Rating) wins.
But ESPN's writers have atoned for those past controversial rankings with their most recent one, as Clark has assumed the top spot in Wednesday's final ranking.
"Fever (and Hawkeye) fans, rejoice! Clark has taken over the No. 1 ranking among rookies according to the consensus of the advanced metrics," ESPN's Neil Paine wrote.
"Since returning from the All-Star and Olympic break, Clark has been one of the league's most productive players, averaging 32.5 points per 100 possessions on 60.0% true shooting with a 39.7% assist rate, a 21.6% turnover rate and a +3.9 offensive estimated RAPTOR -- all massive improvements over her season-to-date numbers from before the break.
"Clark's vastly improved turnover rate is especially impressive to see, as that had been perhaps the single biggest reason why the metrics were comparatively down on her earlier in the season," Paine continued. "While research showed that the narrative among some -- that Clark's brilliant passes were dropped by fumbling teammates -- was almost entirely a myth, she has dramatically cut down on the giveaways while improving her output of passes leading to teammate buckets."
We have a new No. 1 in our final WNBA rookie rankings before the regular season wraps up. https://t.co/ZbTGEmcqmG
— ESPN Women's Hoops (@ESPN_WomenHoop) September 18, 2024
While the ranking once again came down to advanced metrics, Clark's win shares (3.0) and PER wins (5.2) have eclipsed that of Reese (2.8 and 3.9, respectively).
There's no question that both rookies have amassed sensational first WNBA seasons. Yet, Clark is the inarguable Rookie of the Year at this point, and it's good to see ESPN acknowledge that.
GRANT YOUNG
Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.