Caitlin Clark Wins WNBA Rookie Of The Year One Vote Shy Of Unanimous Because Someone Picked Angel Reese
There was no question that Indiana Fever sensation Caitlin Clark was going to be named the WNBA Rookie of the Year. In fact, it was quite an easy decision that should have been unanimous.
But, it wasn't. That's because someone inexplicably decided to vote for Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese.
Clark was already named the AP WNBA Rookie of the Year, and the voting was unanimous. However, the WNBA's official award, which is apparently different because it's sponsored by Kia, had 66 people vote for Clark and one vote for Reese.
Not only is it clear that Caitlin Clark is a far more skilled basketball player than Angel Reese, but the statistics say that Clark is better, too.
Sure, Angel Reese piles up rebounds. But Reese also gets a lot of offensive rebounds from missing layups in close. Reese shot 39% from the field despite taking over 90% of her shots from inside eight feet.
Plus, Reese suffered a season-ending injury in early September and missed her team's final six games.
Conversely, Clark played in all 40 regular season games and led the Fever to the #6 seed in the WNBA playoffs one season after the team finished 10th.
Indiana won seven more games with Clark last season than without her last year. And that's despite starting 1-8 as the rookie star adjusted to the WNBA.
Clark led the league in assists and set several WNBA records along the way. She averaged 18 points, 8.5 assists and 5 rebounds per game.
Still, that wasn't quite enough to earn the unanimous Rookie of the Year. It feels like someone wanted to make sure that Clark didn't earn all 67 votes, because there's no rational person who could think that Reese had a better season than Clark.
It'll be interesting to see if that person outs him or herself. That might give more insight into a massive travesty when it comes to WNBA Rookie of the Year Award voting.