The 2024 WNBA season stands concluded. However, there remains an urge to look back at this transformational year the WNBA has seen with the generational rookies gracing the league. Despite other rookies being present in the draft class, Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese took center stage with their on-court rivalry, which kicked off in the NCAA’s national championship game in 2023.

Coming into the league, the two have come across face-to-face 4 times, putting on a display that kept getting better and better with roof-breaking viewership ratings. Now, that they are basking in the off-season adventures, let’s take a look at what wonders these two rookies created in their inaugural season in the WNBA.

Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese: A battle of records

Stepping into the WNBA, Caitlin Clark, and Angel Reese kept the stakes high from day one. They both had an incredible season, taking the league to unprecedented heights in several aspects. In their first endeavor for basketball greatness, they broke different records, leaving the fans awestruck with their charisma.

Despite being rookies, both Clark and Reese led the league in different categories and set the tone for the rest of the season. Here’s the comparison of some of their best records and accolades from their historic rookie season.

Talk about their scoring prowess

Clark holds the WNBA rookie single-season scoring record. Throughout the season, she scored 15 20+ point games, 4 30+ point games, and 17 10+ point games, along with 242 made field goals, 122 3-pointers, and 163 free throws. With 769 career points, Clark became one of the top-scoring rookies in the history of the WNBA.

On the other hand, Angel Reese too displayed her scoring skills that proved pivotal for the Sky. Through the games she played, Reese posted double-digit scores in 31 games, out of which there were 27 10+ point games and 4 20+ point games. Hadn’t it been her wrist injury near the end of the regular season, Reese would have been able to put out more number like this. Nonetheless, she finished her rookie season with 462 career points.

The dilemma of passing dimes and grabbing boards

While the two hold a relentless ability to score, Clark and Reese have established themselves in these two aspects individually as one of their best attributes as basketball athletes. Clark led the league in passing dimes with 8.4 assists per game. She set the record for most assists by a rookie in the league’s history after amassing 337 career assists. With these digits, Clark also set the WNBA single-season record and the single-season rookie record for assists.

Moreover, she also regiestered the single-game assists record for making 19 assists in a game against Dallas. In addition, she set the record for making most assists as a rookie in the history of WNBA’s All-Star Game with 10 dimes. It occurred only twice in the season where Aliyah Boston scored highest assists on the team, but the rest of it was always Clark.

Meanwhile, Reese was busy making an impact with her defensive rebounds. Emerged as one of the most dominant rebounders of the 2024 rookie class, Angel Reese caught up to her rebounding prowess in just a handful of games. Then she went on and set the WNBA single-season record with 13.1 rebounds per game. More so, she set two more single-season records, one for most rebounds at 446 and the other for most offensive rebounds at 172.

She became the first WNBA player to record 20+ rebounds for three straight games against Phoenix, Connecticut, and Las Vegas. Apart from these three games, Reese recorded double-digit rebounds in 27 games. Hence, Angel Reese dominated the boards.

The double-double juggle with a hint of triple-double

Angel Reese has dominated this aspect since her college days, where she earned the moniker – the double-double queen. In her inaugural season, Reese set the record with 27 double-doubles, the second most double-doubles in a season in the WNBA.

She also set the WNBA record with 15 consecutive double-doubles in a single season, surpassed Candace Parker’s double-double streak record of 12 games already in mid-season when she posted her 13th double-double against Seattle.

Reese also became the first rookie to record a double-double in the WNBA All-Star Game history with 12 points and 11 rebounds against Team USA. Reese was the fifth rookie in the league’s history to average a double-double with 13.6 points and 13.1 rebounds per game.

As for Clark, she combined her scoring and passes to deliver 14 double-doubles. With this, she set the record for most double-doubles by a rookie guard in the league’s history. Moreover, Clark set the franchise record for posting the most double-doubles in a season with the Indiana Fever.

Although Clark couldn’t put out as impressive double-doubles as Reese’s, she did set a record with her triple-doubles. Posted her career-first triple-double in a game against New York in July with 19 points, 12 rebounds, and 13 assists. It was the first triple-double by a WNBA rookie and the first triple-double in the history of Indiana Fever. Similarly, after the Fever’s 93-86 victory in early September, Clark became the first WNBA rookie to record multiple triple-doubles.

There are many more records that Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese have clinched under her belts, however, the above-mentioned standout in defining their emergence in the WNBA.