"Poor man's Dennis Rodman" - Dave Portnoy mocks Angel Reese's ROTY case crediting Caitlin Clark for her spotlight

Leading into the final regular season game between Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark, Dave Portnoy posted an interesting tweet on X, formerly Twitter. Reese entered Chicago’s Wintrust Arena wearing a Pistons-era Dennis Rodman jersey. Portnoy promptly reacted saying that it was the “best NBA comp.”

Clark went on to dominate, leading the Indiana Fever to a thorough drubbing of the Sky 100-81. To exacerbate matters, Clark’s impressive performance came during a game called “Barbie Night.”The Fever rookie came out of the game at 3:52 to a standing ovation from the Chicago crowd as her team cruised to victory.

A few days after the game, Sheryl Swoopes said on X that Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark are deserving Rookie of the Year winners. Dave Portnoy reacted to Swoopes and other fans’ continued persistence in putting Reese on the same level as Clark:

“I still see people like that tweet from Lisa Leslie being like, ‘They’re both Rookie of the Year players.’ They’re not both Rookie of the Years! They’re not and it’s okay. Not everybody is Michael Jordan. Not everyone is Steph Curry. Some people are Andre Drummond. Some people are a poor man’s Dennis Rodman.

Portnoy added that Reese could be compared to Rudy Gobert, a four-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year winner. According to him, Gobert is highly regarded in certain areas but not in the same category as the superstars. He asserts that Reese is on the same boat as the Frenchman.

Dave Portnoy gave his reason why Angel Reese isn’t a star at par with Caitlin Clark:

“Why are we talking about Angel Reese? She is a rebounder. She does one thing well, and she does it great. She rebounds. Nothing else! Caitlin Clark does it all. So, why do we keep comparing these two?”

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Dave Portnoy differentiates Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark's impact on their respective teams

As basketball is a team game, Dave Portnoy asked fans to look at the impact of Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark on their respective teams.

Reese’s Sky is in danger of missing the playoffs for the first time since 2018. Following a 79-74 loss to the Minnesota Lynx on Sunday, Chicago dropped to 11-21, tied for eighth spot with the Atlanta Dream.

The Indiana Fever, behind Clark, is headed to the playoffs for the first time since 2016. Indiana is on a four-game winning run and is 6-1 since the WNBA resumed playing after the Olympic break. They hold the best record in the league during that streak.

Dave Portnoy said about Angel Reese’s impact on the Sky:

“She can’t shoot a lick. One of the worst shooters in the league, like 30% from a foot out. …(Reese) doesn’t pass.

"She’s a great rebounder but doesn’t make her team better. The Chicago Sky already have as many losses this year as they did last year. They have gotten significantly worse.”

The Sky (11-21) could still make the playoffs but are likely going to have a worse record than last year (18-22). They have four remaining games, four of which will come against playoff-bound teams. Chicago also has to tangle with the Washington Mystics (9-23) and the Atlanta Dream (11-21), teams trying to punch the final postseason ticket.

For Dave Portnoy, Caitlin Clark’s impact on the Indiana Fever has been much better than what Reese has done for the Chicago Sky. According to him, that alone should put to rest narratives about both players deserving of the Rookie of the Year award.