CHICAGO — The Rookie of the Year race is the last thing on Caitlin Clark’s and Angel Reese’s mind. Winning, they insist, is their only focus.
On both accounts, Clark has the edge. And it’s getting larger with every game.
Clark scored a season-high 31 points and notched her 11th double-double with 12 assists Friday night while Reese had 11 rebounds and 10 points. But the stat that matters is six. As in the spot the Indiana Fever moved up to in the eight-team playoff race with their 100-81 rout, leapfrogging the Phoenix Mercury.
Chicago remains eighth in the standings but, after five losses in a row and problems almost everywhere on the floor, the Sky’s spot is precarious.
“We don’t wake up and think about individual awards. I know that’s what all of you think we do. We don’t,” Clark said before the game. “That’s what everybody wants to make this about, but both of our teams are competing for playoff spots. That’s our main focus.
“Our focus is on winning basketball games. It’s as simple as that,” Clark added. “It’s winning basketball games.”
Like Magic and Bird before them, Clark and Reese are forever linked, first by their rivalry in college — Reese and LSU beat Clark and Iowa for the national title in 2023, Clark’s Hawkeyes knocked Reese and LSU out of the tournament on their way to the championship game this year — and now by their WNBA careers.
Though Reese was drafted seventh, six spots behind Clark, they have emerged as the league’s new standard bearers. They sell out arenas almost everywhere they go and spark blockbuster ratings. Sponsors clamor to work with them.
And both are shredding the record books.
Clark has already set WNBA rookie records for assists and 3-pointers, and she leads the league in assists this season. Reese’s last rebound Friday night gave her 399 for the season, breaking Tina Charles’ rookie record, and her 23rd double-double extended her WNBA rookie record.
But stats are for nerds.
Clark and Reese were lottery picks because the Fever and Sky, respectively, expected them to elevate their teams. To lift them out of the WNBA’s doldrums and into contention, first for the playoffs and eventually for titles.
There’s no question Clark has moved ahead of Reese in that respect. She and the Fever both have recovered from their rough start, largely because Clark has finally had time to develop chemistry with her teammates.
Clark barely had a training camp before she and the Fever were thrown into the meat-grinder portion of their schedule. Anyone who’s ever played basketball, or actually watched it, knows that a point guard, even one as gifted as Clark, can’t just whip the ball around the court. They need to know what their teammates’ tendencies are, everything from who likes the ball where to who can handle a rocket of a pass.
Until that happens, there are going to be miscues. Lots of them.
The Fever began the season 1-8 and Clark had 15 games with six or more turnovers before the Olympic break. She also struggled with her own shot, shooting better than 50% just twice in the first month of the season.
But Clark and the Fever gradually figured it out. Clark has scored in double figures in every game since June 16, and has had a double- or triple-double 10 times. The Olympic break also helped, allowing the Fever to have what was effectively a second training camp.
The difference is obvious. Indiana has won three in a row, and five of its last six. On Friday night, the Fever had assists on 26 of their 32 field goals. They had 11 turnovers, and Chicago got just five points off them.
“Just time, honestly,” Clark said. “You’ve got to be able to feel out your teammates. You want them to understand you and you have to be able to understand them, and I think that took us a little bit of time. I’m going to just get more comfortable the more games I play.”
Chicago’s problems are not Reese’s fault. The Sky are limited offensively — their second-leading scorer is still Marina Mabrey, who was traded before the Olympic break — and they haven’t figured out how to win close games. The Sky have lost six games by four or fewer points, including three in their current five-game skid.
Against the Fever on Friday, the Sky raced out to a 13-point lead in the first quarter — and wound up losing by 19. And Chicago had to outscore the Fever 10-2 in garbage time just to make it that close.
“It’s not being able to execute down the stretch and that’s something we have to fix,” Reese said before the game. “We don’t want to continue to lose. It’s not a good feeling for any of us.”
Clark and Reese are both going to have long, successful careers. But they will always be each other’s measure and, for this season at least, Clark is the clear winner.
Follow USA TODAY Sports columnist Nancy Armour on social media @nrarmour.