Clark and Reese, co-ROY winners making WNBA history.

Late next week, the WNBA will send out ballots for its end-of-season awards. Sixty-eight media members will have eight days to submit selections for 10 different awards, including Most Valuable Player, Defensive Player of the Year, and first- and second-team All-WNBA.

What I’m about to say will never happen, and I’m equally aware it would be wildly unpopular on the fringes of Caitlin Clark’s and Angel Reese’s fan bases, where rational discussion goes to die and a compliment of one player is viewed as a criticism of the other. But, what the heck. Let’s do it anyway.

For me, this season’s Rookie of the Year award should be shared by Clark and Reese, not only for their performances on the court, where each has done things never before seen in the league’s nearly three-decade history, but also for their impact off it. The two have been like neodymium magnets, attracting viewers and generating revenue at a dizzying rate.

Longtime league followers will argue the W’s popularity was trending up before the rookies’ arrival, which is true. But the level of interest among mainstream media and casual fans was negligible for much of that time. Broadcast partners even treated the W as an afterthought, neither promoting nor amplifying it with much vigor.

Today, however, the league has a regular place on the ESPN rundown sheet, and its stars are sought-after guests on popular podcasts. Is that solely because of Clark and Reese? No. But is it largely because of them? Yes.

Their Q Scores coming out of college were as high or higher than anyone in the W, the byproduct of a rivalry that began two seasons ago when Reese and LSU defeated Clark and Iowa for the NCAA championship. In transitioning to the W, the two brought all those eyeballs with them, raising the league’s popularity to a point not seen since its inaugural season.

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But talking about Reese or Clark solely in terms of statistics seems insufficient considering their importance to the league. Some have tried to compare their arrival to that of Magic Johnson and Larry Bird in the NBA in 1979. Although similar in some ways — they were rivals who competed against each other in an NCAA final; also one is Black, the other White — there is a subtle yet significant difference.

I don’t care what comparisons you make both @Reese10Angel and @CaitlinClark22 deserve the Rookie of the Year Award! The pressure and the weight of this season has forever changed the @WNBA and both rookies rose to the top and exceeded all our expectations! Take a bow ladies👏🏽👏🏽

— Lisa Leslie (@LisaLeslie) September 2, 2024

I get why some would prefer to reduce the vote to on-court performance. If forced to do so, my vote, if I had one, would go to Clark. Her ability to impact games as a shooter, passer and pace-setter is remarkable, and she only figures to get better.