Angel Reese's feelings on Caitlin Clark abundantly clear after WNBA Rookie of the Year win

Indiana Fever's Caitlin Clark has been unanimously crowned the 2024 WNBA Rookie of the Year, concluding a season-long contest with Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese.

Clark led her team by scoring an average of 19.2 points per game and topped the entire WNBA in both assists per game and three-pointers made during her historic rookie season.

Both players have openly expressed their indifference towards the award chase, which was primarily highlighted by the media rather than Reese or Clark themselves according to the two stars, as Reese emphatically claimed that she wanted to beat Clark to the award.

"We don't either care about the Rookie of the Year but you guys, I think you guys have made the big thing. We haven't," Reese told reporters in late August. "We both want to win.

"We've been wanting to win and that's what we've done in our collegiate career. We played against each other last year and the year before in the March Madness tournament. So we're just trying to do whatever it takes to win. That's what's important right now."

Reese remained a strong contender in the Rookie of the Year race until she chose to undergo surgery on her injured wrist in early September. She averaged 13.6 points, and 13.1 rebounds per game for the Sky.

Reese set the league's single-season record when she grabbed her 418th rebound of the season against the Minnesota Lynx. However, 2024 WNBA MVP A'Ja Wilson would later break this record following Reese's injury.

Sky's rookie sensation voiced her priorities clearly, while Clark emphatically stated in August: "You don't wake up and think about individual awards. I know that's what all of you think we do. I know we don't. That's what everybody wants to make this about.

"Both of our teams are competing for playoff spots, that's our main focus. That's a selfish thing to just care about an individual award. And she would give you the same exact answer. I'm sure she has given you the same exact answer."

Yet, Sunday's play-off debut proved difficult for Clark, who struggled against the Connecticut Sun with a disappointing 4/17 shooting effort, scoring a meagre 11 points in a heavy 93-69 defeat. The Fever face an uphill battle, needing a road victory this Wednesday to force a tie-breaking third game back at their home venue, the Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indiana.

Meanwhile, the Chicago Sky's fortunes plummeted after Reese's injury, with the team losing eight of their final 10 matches, resulting in a drop to ninth-seed in the league standings.