Jaylen Brown believes that Angel Reese has outshined Caitlin Clark this season due to Clark’s declining performance and should be the WNBA Rookie of the Year
Jaylen Brown thinks Angel Reese has been playing better than Caitlin Clark this season, and should be WNBA Rookie of the Year.
Jaylen Brown spoke to Boardroom about the Rookie of the Year race in the WNBA. When asked who has caught his attention, Brown adamantly maintained that Angel Reese will get his vote, noting her consistency and her ability to regularly get double-doubles as a dominant power forward in the league as her reason to win.
“Angel Reese got my vote. I just think you know consistency to come in just double-double after double-double. It’s a lot of good players, it’s a lot of good guys out there doing their thing. Shout out to the WNBA. I’m a fan. I’m planning to come see some games when their schedule picks back up after the Olympics.”
Interviewer: “Do you have your eye on someone that could be [the WNBA] ROTY this year?”
Jaylen Brown: “Angel Reese got my vote. I just think you know consistency to come in just double-double after double-double.” 👀
(via @boardroom)pic.twitter.com/IYGWeVNf1U
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) August 7, 2024
Jaylen Brown picking Angel Reese over Caitlin Clark isn’t surprising. He has formed something of a friendship with Reese, especially since he has been linked romantically to Reese’s former Sky teammate Kysre Gondrezick.
The trio were even spotted watching an NBA Summer League game together, where Brown infamously told Gondrezick that he doesn’t think Bronny has what it takes to be an NBA player.
While Brown’s friendship with Reese is a very positive thing, it could be causing him to be biased towards Reese. So far, the race between Caitlin Clark hasn’t been as close as people would like to believe, with Clark seemingly pulling ahead with her incredible performances in the WNBA.
Clark And Reese Have Had A Long-Standing Rivalry
Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese’s rivalry actually predates the NBA. The two went toe-to-toe in the 2023 NCAA National Championship, where Reese and LSU triumphed over Clark and Iowa State. Reese famously mocked Clark’s ‘You can’t see me’ gesture during the game.
Since then, the two players have made the jump to the WNBA, and have set the league on fire. A large part of the WNBA’s rise in popularity has been thanks to their incredible performances in their rookie years. The two even made it to the WNBA All-Star game this year, an incredible achievement for two rookies in the league.
Their rivalry has not slowed down since entering the WNBA, as they have been going at it and bringing physicality against each other. In one of their encounters, Reese inadvertently smacked Clark in the head. And rather than apologize, she actually took a shot at Clark after the game for getting calls from the referees.
Clark has been having a phenomenal season, averaging 17.1 points, 5.8 rebounds, 8.2 assists, 1.5 steals, and 0.8 blocks per game. As for Reese, she isn’t too far behind in her performances, averaging 13.5 points, 12.0 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.5 steals, and 0.4 blocks per game.
Clark currently leads Reece in almost every statistical category except rebounding. This dominance from Clark should already cement her as the favorite to win Rookie of the Year, as the WNBA regular season is about to come to an end very soon after the Olympics break is over and the season resumes.
The Rookie of the Year race may just be a formality at this point, as Clark has pulled ahead of Reese. However, there are many players in the league and many analysts who believe Reese’s double-double streak should be taken into consideration when casting their votes. It will be an interesting outcome to a hotly contested race for WNBA Rookie of the Year.
