CHICAGO — Leading up to the regular-season finale between the Chicago Sky and Indiana Fever on Friday night, Caitlin Clark was asked if the competitiveness surrounding the Rookie of the Year race with Angel Reese has been fun. It’s only between these rookies out of the Midwest. 

“I think me and Angel would both give you the same answer. You don’t wake up and think about individual awards,” Clark said, 90 minutes before tip-off. “I know that’s what all of you think we do. I know we don’t. That’s what everybody wants to make this about. Both of our teams are competing for playoff spots… that’s a selfish thing to just care about an individual award.” 

“I’m sure, she has given you the same exact answer,” Clark added. 

She is right. 

Reese was asked about it pregame and gave an identical response. 

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“We don’t either care about the Rookie of the Year,” Reese said. “I think you guys (media) have made it a big thing. We haven’t. So just continue to work within our team. We both want to win… that’s what we’ve done in our collegiate career. We played against each other… last year and the year before in the March Madness Tournament… trying to do whatever it takes to win.” 

Clark leads all rookies in points per game, steals, 3-point makes and minutes. She also leads in turnovers, while Reese has the edge in rebounds per game. That’s the difficulty with trying to differentiate between someone at the point guard and in the paint for this award. It’s been talked about all season long. Reese ranked as the top rookie in an article posted on Thursday by ESPN. 

While readers and fans may care, Clark and Reese both assure that they don’t. 

“Everybody can write that, but our focus is on winning basketball games,” Clark said. “It’s as simple as that… that was the same story for us when we were in college. If you’re playing basketball for individual awards, no matter what level you’re at, you’re doing it wrong.”