And the debate continues. After Caitlin Clark had nipped her comparison with Angel Reese in the bud by winning two straight games against the Chicago Sky in the WNBA, the discussion once again caught fire after Reese’s unexpected win against the Sky during the game on Sunday. After the contest, celebrated journalist Stephen A. Smith came forward along with Monica McNutt to choose the Rookie of the Year and now an NCAA legend has come to the fore to select the Rookie of the Year according to her first-hand experience.

LaChina Robinson was present during ESPN’s First Take when she divulged who could be the winner of the coveted award. And fans were happy to get an insight from the legend.

LaChina Robinson selects Rookie of the Year

Robinson opined that for her Angel Reese was a winner since she had been helping her team win games. While Clark has made it to the Indiana team this year, the Fever failed to qualify for the playoffs despite her exceptional play whereas Reese has been propelling her team to the playoffs. For the record, the Fever have a 7-11 tally whereas the Sky sports a 6-9 stat.

“Angel Reese was fantastic yesterday. But for me, the answer to this question really boils down to winning because that’s what we’re all here to do and in my opinion, uh, the most impressive rookie so far has been Angel Reese,” Robinson stated, via ESPN. 

Robinson further sided with Chicago because they have a new head coach in Teresa Weatherspoon who joined only this season. Therefore, despite needing time to rebuild, the Sky has been able to leave a mark in the game. Apart from that, Robinson also pointed out the fact that Chicago’s main stars left the team this season. 

“They’re looking at their starting lineup- they have one starter available to them from last season. Kahleah Copper‘s gone! uh Courtney Williams’ gone! Alanna Smith gone! So, there’s not a lot of familiarity on this roster versus the Indiana Fever that have three starters from last season also,” Robinson exclaimed.

While the Sky traded Kahleah Copper to Phoenix Mercury, Courtney Williams, and Alanna Smith signed with the Minnesota Lynx in free agency. Hence, it is commendable that the Sky have been winning while on their way to making a team. Plus, Robinson also remarked that while the Indiana Fever has been reigning Rookie of the Year in Aliyah Boston, the Sky has been a more impressive team. Her judgment came after some similar verdicts by Smith and McNutt.

Stephen A. Smith and Monica McNutt have similar opinions to LaChina Robinson

Previously in the show, Smith sided with Shannon Sharpe claiming that Angel Reese deserved to be the Rookie of the Year. Sharpe and Smith both reasoned that their decision was based on Reese’s eighth consecutive double-doubles and also becoming the first rookie to score 25 points with 15 rebounds in a match since A’ja Wilson in 2018. Notably, Reese had also added 25 points with 16 rebounds in the Sunday matchup against Fever.

Meanwhile, McNutt too seemed to side with Sharpe as she asked Smith before passing on the mic if she could take in opinions from both sides and then give her take and act as a middleman in the way. But Smith reckoned that he agreed with Sharpe. 

Perhaps, if not anything else this will put the end to the Rookie of the Year debate. And irrespective of who wins, fans will be excited to watch Clark and Reese display their on-court brilliance in their upcoming games. Meanwhile, as for Robinson, her take gave a much-needed detailed perspective on the Chicago Sky. 

Stay tuned for more such updates, and to follow what Shaq’s ex-agent, Leonard Armato, has to say about the infamous Shaq-Kobe feud, Caitlin Clark’s Olympic snub, and more, watch this video