WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert joined “Power Lunch” on CNBC on Monday and commented on the league's top two rookies, Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese.
“It’s a little that [Larry Bird & Magic Johnson] moment,” Engelbert said. “One thing I know about sports [is that] you need rivalry. That's what makes people watch. They want to watch games of consequence between rivals.”
The rivalry between Clark and Reese stemmed back to 2023 in the NCAA Women's Basketball National Championship game. Reese infamously did the John Cena “You can't see me” taunt against Clark. The former Iowa star did the same taunt in that same year against Louisville in the Elite Eight.
Both Bird and Johnson played in the 1979 NCAA Men's Basketball National Championship and put their sport on the map. Johnson finished with 24 points and the win, while Bird finished with 19 points and 13 rebounds. At a time when the NBA Finals weren't broadcast on national television, the sport needed something. The Michigan State and Indiana State stars dueled and truly shifted the magnitude for anyone invested in the game of basketball.
Can Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese replicate Larry Bird and Magic Johnson?
It's hard to say if Clark and Reese will model their exact careers. However, both are making history in their own right. Clark has the most double-doubles for a guard in league history, the most three-pointers made in a season and the most assists by a rookie in WNBA history. On the other hand, Reese holds the most rebounds in a season in WNBA history as a rookie. Both are shattering the WNBA record books in only their first seasons.
In Johnson's first year, the Los Angeles Lakers made the playoffs and eventually won the NBA Championship. Bird led the Boston Celtics to a 61-21 record and finished with the 1979-80 NBA Rookie of the Year award. Although they lost in the Eastern Conference Finals to the Philadelphia 76ers 4-1, it was an amazing season considering the year prior they finished 29-53.
As of today, Clark is set to make the playoffs with the Indiana Fever in her rookie campaign. Unfortunately, Reese will miss the rest of her rookie campaign with a fractured wrist. She finished the season averaging 13.6 points, a league-high 13.1 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.3 steals. Clark is currently averaging 19.3 points, a league-high 8.5 assists, and 5.8 rebounds while making a little over three of her three-pointers per game.
Although both players aren't totally similar to the NBA greats, their immediate impact on the WNBA both on and off the court has been other-worldly.
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