Caitlin Clark outshines Angel Reese in WNBA start despite Fever’s losses, according to stats
The contrast and competition between Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark, who both participated in the NCAA, have received a lot of attention from the media, social media users, and supporters of women’s basketball. The debate over who has had a stronger start to their professional careers has continued since both were selected by the WNBA this year.
While Reese’s squad, the Chicago Sky, has only played three games and has a record of 2-1, Clark’s team, the Indiana Fever, has not won in their first five games (0–5). Therefore, Reese currently holds the undisputed advantage in terms of victories.
But what about each player’s unique numbers from the WNBA games they have participated in? There, however, things have changed since Clark has surpassed her enduring NCAA adversary, as many had predicted.
Incredibly disheartening to see Angel Reese attack Caitlin Clark like this. Just entirely baseless and distasteful. The tweet screams jealousy and insecurity.
Although, Caitlin Clark probably deserved this given she has white, straight, pretty & tall-privilege. Right, @sunny? pic.twitter.com/CHfIDNOCRo
— Riley Gaines (@Riley_Gaines_) May 24, 2024
Thus far, Clark leads Reese in a number of important metrics, particularly those that have an immediate effect on the scoreboard, such as assists per game and points scored. At the moment, Angel Reese averages 12 points and 1.3 assists per game, while Caitlin Clark averages 17.8 points and 5.8 assists per game.
In addition to having a higher field goal percentage (40.3% vs. 33.3%), free throw percentage (91.3% vs. 58.3%), and three-point shooting percentage (32.6% for Clark vs. 0% for Reese), Clark has played more minutes on average (31.4) than Reese (27.7).
Reese really outperforms Clark only in defensive statistics, where he averages 8.7 rebounds (offensive and defensive) per game as opposed to Clark’s 4.6. Reese averages 1.7 turnovers per game as opposed to Clark’s 5.8.
Fair comparisons should include an equal number of games.
It would be reasonable to compare their performance over the same amount of games because the prior statistics take into account Clark’s five games while Reese’s only had three. Clark’s performance even outperforms Reese’s in that regard.
Clark played 32 minutes each game on average in their first three games, while Reese played 27.3. Clark outscored Reese 12 points per game on average, but the Indiana Fever player had 5.6 assists per game against the Chicago Sky player’s 1.3. Clark outperformed Reese in both field goal percentage and free throw effectiveness, shooting 37.06% against 33% and 66.66%, respectively. Compared to Reese’s 0% three-point shooting efficiency, Clark’s was 30.23%.
One week in and it is readily apparent that Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese's Star power have elevated the WNBA to another level just like Larry Bird and Magic Johnson resurrected the NBA back in the day.
The WNBA set the tone by making the move to chartered flights and women of… pic.twitter.com/BdzsTtHB9X
— Midtown Mike (@MidtownMike22) May 24, 2024
These figures indicate that, although Clark and the Indiana Fever (who have lost five games but have played better in their last two games) have fared better on the season than Angel Reese and the Chicago Sky (who have won two and lost one), Caitlin Clark has had a greater overall impact on her team. Reese leads the Sky only in rebounds, but she leads her team in both assists and points scored.
