"Caitlin getting the ESPN Joker treatment" — WNBA fans flabbergasted over Angel Reese reportedly taking ROY lead over Caitlin Clark

Neil Paine came up with the second edition of his monthly ranking, giving the top spot to Angel Reese over Caitlin Clark. Fans have flooded social media with reactions about the latest ESPN analysis regarding WNBA rookies.

After Cameron Brink went down with a season-ending injury in June, the list needed a new player to take the No. 1 spot. While Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever improved their game and results, Angel Reese went on a notable streak, recording 14 consecutive double-doubles.

WNBA fans weren't happy with this decision and took to social media to share their disagreement. Fans compared this treatment for Caitlin Clark to when ESPN seemingly ignored Nikola Jokic for the MVP award despite his impressive performances:

"Caitlin getting the espn Joker treatment. Shocker," one fan said.

"ESPN with an agenda against CC, I see. “Advanced metrics.” 🤡" another commented.

One fan laughed at ESPN using advanced metrics for this list:

"advanced metrics for rookie of the year LMAOOOO," the fan wrote.

Others called out Angel Reese for stat padding while defending Caitlin Clark:

"Angel Reese is literally stat padding every single game just so she can get a double double," they said.

What did Paine say about Angel Reese, Caitlin Clark?

There's no doubt that this ranking would cause controversy. Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark have been pitted against each other for some time, and once they made it to the WNBA, the comparisons became more recurrent.

Paine explained that Reese has been filling out the stat sheets this season, ranks second in scoring per 100 possessions among rookies and has become the best defensive rookie in Brink's absence. Moreover, he notes that the Sky has a 16.6-point improvement in net rating with Reese on the court.

As for Clark, Paine admits that the No. 1 overall pick has had the biggest improvement since June with her 18.3 points, 10.1 assists and 7.6 rebounds per game. She's been getting better from distance, shooting for 41.7 percent on shots of 30-34 feet. The cherry on the top is that Clark has made an impact on the Fever, and her presence helps the team.

The rankings were made taking into account three advanced metrics: Basketball-Reference's Win Shares, Estimated Wins Added from Player Efficiency Rating (PER) and wins generated via Estimated RAPTOR. With all the data, Reese's production has had a bigger effect on the Sky than Clark's on the Fever.