ESPN Ranks Caitlin Clark As WNBA's 15th Best Player, Ahead Of Angel Reese
Kudos to ESPN for getting something right; they ranked Indiana Fever rookie Caitlin Clark ahead of Chicago Sky rookie Angel Reese in their mid-season rankings of the best players in the WNBA.
Now, as far as whether Clark is rated high enough, that's up for debate.
Still, it's nice to see even ESPN recognize that Clark does far more on a basketball court than Reese.
Kudos to them, as well, for noting this in the write-up about Reese:
"Although Reese doesn't space the floor (two 3s all season) and has shot just 41% on 2-point attempts, her relentless energy on the offensive glass already makes Reese one of the league's best players."
Hard to disagree with that, and it's something I wrote about in-depth last month.
While Reese piles up the rebounds, she's a very inefficient offensive player who struggles to score, despite many opportunities close to the basket.
ESPN released a mid-season ranking of WNBA players and had Indiana Fever rookie Caitlin Clark ahead of Chicago Sky rookie Angel Reese (pictured).
(Getty Images)
ESPN properly slotted Caitlin Clark ahead of Angel Reese in their recent WNBA player rankings
Clark, on the other hand, has the highest average "distance away from the basket" on her shot attempts and still shoots a higher overall percentage than Reese (40.5% from the field for Clark vs. 40.2% for Reese).
Plus, Clark is the most gifted passer in the WNBA, and that's not really up for debate.
ESPN noted her scoring and assists, and even threw in a line about how well she's dealing with unprecedented media attention for a women's basketball player.
"Clark leads all rookies in scoring and is 13th overall. She also leads the league in assists and has dealt well with the enormous pressure," they wrote.
Still feels as though they're underselling Clark a little bit, but this is a step in the right direction, where ESPN is openly acknowledging the obvious about her.
ESPN released a mid-season ranking of WNBA players and had Indiana Fever rookie Caitlin Clark (pictured) ahead of Chicago Sky rookie Angel Reese.
(David Berding/Getty Images)
However, I could quibble with her ranking as the 15th best player in the WNBA.
While I don't watch nearly enough women's basketball games to consider myself an expert, there's such a difference between the way Clark plays the game and many others.
From the way she shoots, to the way she sees the floor, to how hard she passes, she's clearly built differently.
RELATED: Not Having Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese Impacted Team USA In Olympic TV Ratings
Plus, the surrounding team isn't one of the league's best. There are three teams that have three players in ESPN's Top 15 in the rankings.
Obviously, having top-flight teammates helps make any player look better. So, it can be hard to distinguish who is the alpha and who is "along for the ride," so to speak.
Again, though, credit to ESPN for giving Caitlin Clark her due. She's a better player than Angel Reese, and they ranked them accordingly.