Is Rickea Jackson a better rookie than Angel Reese? A statistical comparison of ROTY contenders

Caitlin Clark is the heavy favorite to win the WNBA Rookie of the Year award over Angel Reese. Clark seemingly put the conversation to bed after scoring a career-high 31 points against the Sky. Meanwhile, Rickea Jackson is quietly the third-best rookie this season, but how does she compare with Reese?

Jackson is having an underrated campaign due to the popularity of Clark and Reese, who have transcended the league as rookies. She's also playing for the lowly LA Sparks, who are having one of the worst seasons in franchise history.

Let's look at the statistical comparison between Jackson and Reese:

Angel Reese	STAT	Rickea Jackson
13.3	PPG	12.6
13.2	RPG	3.8
1.8	APG	1.4
1.3	SPG	0.6
0.5	BPG	0.3
2.1	TPG	1.9
38.4	FG%	46.6
15.4	3P%	37.2
72.8	FT%	77.5
38.6	eFG%	52.0
17.3	PER	13.2

Angel Reese is having a better season in terms of the regular counting stats such as points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks per game than Rickea Jackson.

However, Jackson has her beat in field goal percentage, 3-point percentage, free throw percentage, effective field goal percentage and turnovers per game.

Reese is also having a bigger impact on the Chicago Sky with her 17.3 player efficiency rating compared to Jackson's 13.2 for the LA Sparks. Nevertheless, the former Lady Vol has been on a roll since July, reaching double-digit in scoring 13 out of her last 14 games.

Meanwhile, the Sky forward continues to be a double-double machine and her rebounding should be praised more. Her current problem is her shooting and efficiency around the rim. She's the worst shooter in the league from five feet of the basket.

Angel Reese will need to get into the rim to improve her scoring although her defensive positioning and rebounding are off the charts. If she wants to catch up to Caitlin Clark in terms of overall impact, her offense will need to get fixed first.

As for Rickea Jackson, she's a budding star for the LA Sparks. She has stepped up following the absence of Cameron Brink due to injury.

She is already a capable scorer and shooter, who could make a difference for the struggling franchise moving forward.

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Predicting the All-WNBA Rookie Team feat. Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese

Predicting the All-WNBA Rookie Team feat. Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese. (Photo: IMAGN)

Unlike the NBA, the WNBA only has one Rookie Team at the end of the season. Five players will be selected regardless of position and receive the honors.

Caitlin Clark of the Indiana Fever and Angel Reese of the Chicago Sky are expected to be part of the All-WNBA Rookie Team, but who will join them?

It's safe to say Rickea Jackson will be part of the team at the end of the campaign. The LA Sparks are fully backing her up to finish the season as a starter and will likely improve her overall averages of 12.6 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 1.4 assists per game.

Kamilla Cardoso of the Sky should comfortably make the All-WNBA Rookie team, putting up 9.5 points, 8.1 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game.

Cardoso had a slow start to the season and was playing limited minutes. However, she has found her groove alongside Reese and her offensive game is more polished.

The final slot will likely go to Leonie Fiebich of the New York Liberty. She doesn't have eye-popping stats, but she's become an important part of the Liberty's championship aspirations.

For those unaware, she's not part of the 2024 draft class and was actually the 20th overall pick in 2020.