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Angel Reese gives her exit interview after a star Chicago Sky rookie season
After breaking multiple WNBA records and earning an MVP vote, Angel Reese talked her rookie season in an exit interview on Tuesdsay.
Caitlin Clark has been named the WNBA Rookie of the Year in a near-unanimous vote, giving the Indiana Fever back-to-back winners after Aliyah Boston won the honor last season.
A national panel of sportswriters and sportscasters gave Clark 66 of 67 votes in balloting released Thursday. Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese received the other.
Clark, the No. 1 overall pick from Iowa, averaged 19.2 points and a league-best 8.4 assists per game while helping the WNBA set attendance records and garner mainstream attention. She struggled a bit early in the season, but found her groove and was an All-Star starter. The unanimous AP Rookie of the Year led the Fever to the playoffs for the first time since 2016 and a 20-20 record after a 1-8 start.
"I’m a tough grader. I feel like I had a solid year," Clark said after the Fever were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs. "For me, the fun part is like I feel like I’m just scratching the surface and I’m the one that’s nit picking every single thing I do. I know I want to help this franchise. ... I know there’s a lot of room for me to continue to improve so that’s what excites me the most. I feel like I continue to get a lot better."
Clark was not chosen for the U.S. Olympic team — a decision that disappointed her legions of fans — but she showed in the weeks afterward that she might have been helpful. The Fever guard averaged 24.7 points and 9.3 assists in her first 10 games after the Olympic break and led Indiana to an 8-2 record.
Clark was named the Eastern Conference Player of the Month for August, was Player of the Week three times and Rookie of the Month four times. She recorded the first two triple-doubles by a rookie in WNBA history, set a league single-game record with 19 assists and became the first rookie to have at least 30 points and 10 assists in a game.
Clark led the league with 122 3-pointers, was second with 90.6% accuracy from the free-throw line and averaged 5.7 rebounds and 1.3 steals. She set a league single-season record with 337 assists and set rookie records of 769 points and 122 three-pointers made.
Reese averaged 13.6 points and 13.1 rebounds for the Sky.
Off the court, Clark, Reese and their fellow rookies were a ratings and attendance boon for the WNBA. Six different league television partners set viewership records this year for its highest viewed WNBA game. All of those games included the Fever.
Indiana led the league in attendance both at home and on the road. The Fever averaged 17,036 at home and more than 15,000 on the road. Four teams moved home games to bigger arenas when Indiana came to town to accommodate more fans.
Despite Indiana's blowout loss to Connecticut in Game 1, fans tuned in as the game averaged 1.8 million viewers, according to ESPN, making it the WNBA’s most watched playoff game since the 2000 Finals. It was the most-watched playoff game on ESPN ever despite going up against the NFL.
Reese, Cardoso headline all-rookie honors
Earning rookie of the year consideration also led to a place on the WNBA's All-Rookie team for Reese.
Reese and teammate Kamilla Cardoso both earned WNBA All-Rookie team honors.
Comprising the All-Rookie team are:
- Indiana Fever G Caitlin Clark
- Chicago Sky C Kamilla Cardoso
- Chicago Sky F Angel Reese
- New York Liberty G Leonie Fiebich
- Los Angeles Sparks G Rickea Jackson
Reese earns MVP consideration
Angel Reese also earned a fifth-place vote in the WNBA's MVP voting process. Clark was the highest-finishing rookie, as she finished in fourth place.
Voter results are anonymous.
FOX 32's Chris Kwiecinski contributed to this report.