Stephen A. Smith Asserts Bold WNBA Rookie of the Year Take
With the WNBA now back underway after the month-long Paris Olympics break, discussion about the ongoing Rookie of the Year Award race between Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese has resumed.
If Clark was the leader in the clubhouse leading into the WNBA All-Star game, she widened the gap for herself after her and Reese's respective first games back from the break.
Clark finished Friday's win against the Phoenix Mercury with 29 points, 10 assists, and 5 rebounds. While Reese secured yet another double-double during the Sky's 85-65 loss to Phoenix on Thursday by scoring 11 points and 15 rebounds, she didn't look nearly as dominant as Clark did against the Mercury one day later.
However, this discrepancy in performances didn't stop Stephen A. Smith from deeming the Rookie of the Year race anyone's to win right now.
In a segment of "The Stephen A. Smith Show" that was released on YouTube Saturday, Smith said, "Right now, Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark are neck and neck [for Rookie of the Year].
"Yeah, Caitlin Clark is 13th in the league in scoring, she's the league leader in assists, and she also leads the league in turnovers, too," Smith added. "Angel Reese is a walking double-double. They got an opportunity to make the playoffs, as well."
Smith's take is a bold one because the consensus among fans is that Clark has separated herself from Reese in ROTY voting. While Reese setting WNBA double-double records is extremely impressive and would likely make her the ROTY favorite any other season, Clark has quickly become one of the WNBA's most elite guards.
There's still a lot of time for either 22-year-old rookie to gain or lose traction for the award. But as of right now, most women's basketball fans would disagree with Smith, and assert that ROTY is Clark's award to lose.
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.