Midway through the WNBA season, the Rookie of the Year race is as tight as its ever been in recent history.
Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese and Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark are currently the two lone rookies jockeying for the award. That’s totally different from last season, when Fever star Aliyah Boston unanimously won the award after landing in Indiana with the No. 1 overall selection.
“It’s tight. That’s for sure,” Liberty head coach Sandy Brondello said before Thursday’s matchup against the Sky at Barclays Center.
“You guys are gonna be naming that aren’t you? Good luck with that,” the head coach jokingly told reporters.
Comparing the two stars — a ball-dominant guard vs. a rebounding machine — poses difficulty to voters. Reese entered Thursday’s Liberty matchup averaging 14.0 points, 11.9 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.6 steals per game. The LSU product wasted no time after being picked No. 7 overall in the 2024 WNBA Draft. She creates countless more possessions nightly and entered Thursday holding the WNBA record for consecutive double-doubles (14). She surpassed the previous record-holder, Candace Parker (12), on Sunday.
On the other hand, Clark is averaging 16.7 points, 7.6 assists, 5.9 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game. While the No. 1 overall pick flashes her greatness for Christie Sides’ team, she leads the league in turnovers (5.5). Connecticut Sun’s do-it-all star Alyssa Thomas is second with 3.8 turnovers per game.
Normally, rookies don’t make huge impacts on winning, but both young stars have helped their teams stay in the playoff picture midway through the season. Entering Thursday, the Sky (9-12) held the seventh seed while the Fever (9-14) held the final eighth spot.
That impact is a factor Brondello believes goes a long way to deciding a winner.
“[The] Rookie of the Year [winner] should be [whoever has] the impact on their team. And they’re both impacting their team in a massive way.”
If it were the end of the season, Reese would be the frontrunner to win the award, per ESPN’s rookie power rankings. The same report listed Liberty rookie Leonie Fiebich fifth, which delighted her head coach.
After coming over from Spanish club Casademont Zaragoza, the 24-year-old is averaging 5.0 points 2.5 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game.
“I’m happy to see Leo Fiebich,” Brondello said. “… Go Leo!”
SABALLY BACK, LANEY-HAMILTON OUT
Nyara Sabally (back) returned to action Thursday after missing 14 consecutive games. Her return again gives Brondello a backup behind Jonquel Jones. The head coach added she hopes the big will “get a feel for the game” upon her return.
“It’s great to have her back,” the head coach said. “It’s tough when you’re injured as a young player but we took our time. We wanted to make sure she was OK.”
Betnijah Laney-Hamilton missed her second straight game due to a right knee injury. The star missed Wednesday’s win over the Sun and previously missed games this season due to the right knee.
“Her knee didn’t respond to the travel,” Brondello said of Laney-Hamilton. “So right now day-to-day. I’m sure they’re gonna get some work done just to see what’s going on.”
The head coach didn’t provide a timeline for her star guard and called the injury “unfortunate.” The 30-year-old played just nine games in 2022 after undergoing surgery on the same knee.
