According to the controversial claim by basketball legend Lisa Leslie, Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese should share this year’s WNBA Rookie of the Year award.
Both Clark and Reese are having a great debut in the WNBA, where they have resumed their exciting college rivalry and are now competing for the prestigious Rookie of the Year award.
Since being the first overall pick of the Indiana Fever this year, Caitlin has broken several major league records, most recently making the most three-pointers by a rookie in history: 86.
Angel has gotten off to a strong start for the Chicago Sky, breaking the WNBA record for most rebounds in a season with 418 on Sunday night.
In their final game before the Rookie of the Year award is handed out, however, it was Clark who outplayed Reese, her 31 points helping the Fever beat the Sky 100-81.
Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese to Battle for WNBA Rookie of the Year Award
But legendary basketball legend Lisa Leslie believes the pair should share this year’s prize
Many feel that the Indiana phenom should now win the award, especially since her team has a winning record of 17-16, while Chicago’s team is 11-21. However, Leslie has sparked outrage after suggesting that both rookies deserve the award this season.
The two-time WNBA champion wrote on X on Sunday night: “I don’t care what comparisons you make, both @Reese10Angel and @CaitlinClark22 deserve the Rookie of the Year Award!
“The pressure and weight of this season changed the @WNBA forever and both rookies rose to the top and exceeded all our expectations! Take a bow ladies.”
Leslie, who spent her entire 12-year WNBA career with the Los Angeles Sparks, received a lot of criticism for her opinion, but a large majority of fans were convinced that Clark would be the clear winner in the vote.
One of them responded to her, “No, you have good takes, but this was a terrible, really bad take. You have one player who is totally on the WNBA first team and the other one is a roll player who doesn’t bring winning basketball to the team. Stop it.”
Another said: ‘Lisa, we have a lot of respect for you, but let’s be serious for a moment’.
Leslie, a two-time WNBA champion, has been heavily criticized for her stance on social media
Sports podcast host Jason Whitlock led the outrage on X after Leslie’s controversial statement
Clark broke numerous WNBA records and inspired the Indiana Fever to reach the playoffs
A third said: ‘Just disrespectful to what Clark is doing’.
“This is not a consolation prize,” wrote a fourth. “Clark and Reese are miles apart. There is no comparison, so please be serious.”
A fifth commented: ‘Uhhhh…. It’s unanimous Caitlin lol. Angel is doing great! But Caitlin has done some crazy stuff and it would be a disservice to Caitlin to have to share that award.’
While sports podcast host Jason Whitlock also told Leslie, “This level of skin color tribalism is sad and disappointing. An elite rebounder versus an elite basketball player. Delete this tweet.”