Already in the midst of a historic rookie season, Caitlin Clark has openly shared her perspective on individual awards. She revealed that neither she nor her rival, Angel Reese, paid much attention to such accolades throughout the season. This statement soon earned a vote of confidence from Isiah Thomas.
Zeke consequently endorsed Clark’s comments on X. He quoted a post that highlighted her remarks with the caption,
“Let it be known: Catlin Clarke Angel Reese, play to WIN!”
The situation stemmed from Clark’s Indiana Fever’s latest road game against Reese’s Chicago Sky. The star rookies squaring off against each other at the Wintrust Arena added dramatic flair to this clash. The matchup soon lived up to its hype.
Reese recorded her 399th rebound of the season with a double-double of 12 rebounds and 10 points. This milestone helped her surpass WNBA legend Tina Charles’ record for most rebounds in a rookie campaign.
However, Clark snatched the spotlight with a career-high scoring night. She shot 8-of-14 from the field and 5-of-9 from beyond the arc to record 31 points. She also facilitated the offensive plays with 12 assists to lead her franchise to a 100-81 victory.
Many believed this game settled the debate about the 2024 Rookie of the Year once and for all. Clark’s dominant performance made her the clear favorite for the award over her nemesis, Reese. However, the Iowa-born didn’t quite agree with this perspective.
The 22-year-old downplayed the importance of individual accolades during the post-game conference. Speaking for both herself and Reese, she asserted that their focus solely remained on helping their teams reach the playoffs.
“I think me and Angel would both give you the same answer. You don’t wake up and think about individual awards. I know that’s what all of you think we do… That’s what everybody wants to make this about… Both of our teams are competing for playoff spots. That’s our main focus. That’s a selfish thing to just care about an individual award.”
This team-first mindset was enough to impress Thomas. For context, Zeke was among the rare NBA legends who spent their entire career with a single franchise. He stuck by the Detroit Pistons through thick and thin to lead them to two championship wins.
The 63-year-old was therefore excited to see that the leading names of the younger generation shared a similar perspective. It only deepened his respect for Clark and other rising stars in the WNBA.
Thomas has been vocal about his support for women’s basketball
In June, Thomas appeared on Dan Dakich’s Don’t @ Me podcast to discuss the WNBA. He pointed to Clark as a key driver behind the rising interest in women’s basketball. The 2x champion praised her impact on the game, saying,
“I actually love the attention that Caitlin has brought to the WNBA and I love the attention that women’s basketball is getting. For too long, the media hasn’t really shined the light on the WNBA athletically, and competitively… Since Caitlin has arrived and she had a great college career and she was fantastic to watch and you’re curious and you wanna see it go on”.
Since then, Thomas has consistently supported Clark and her peers on social media. After dedicating decades to shaping and popularizing the NBA, Zeke is doing the same for the women’s game, and fans are all in for this.
