Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark lit the NCAA Women’s Basketball world on fire after their teams locked horns in the championship game this past April. Helping to elevate the women’s game to fans, the pair were named The Sporting News Athletes of the Year, which has sparked some interesting debates on social media.
Angel Reese, a forward for Lousiana State University, and Caitlin Clark, a guard for Iowa State University, were electrifying during their run through the NCAA Women’s Basketball tournament. Some observers of the individual players have said Clark is the better overall player but the Reese won the Most Outstanding Player award of the Final Four. It isn’t exactly apples and oranges but a case could be made for how great both players were.
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Their impact on their sport in particular, on the world of sports in general, compelled The Sporting News to select Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese as our Athletes of the Year for 2023, making them the successors to soccer superstar Lionel Messi baseball’s Shohei Ohtani and placing them in the same category as icons LeBron James, Tom Brady, Michael Jordan and Jackie Joyner-Kersee.
“I was at the game. Caitlin and I are friends, and Angel is remarkable … It just made me smile, honestly made me smile, just to see the growth of the game, the incredible athletes on both sides,” Nancy Lieberman, the first woman to become a household name playing basketball, told The Sporting News. “It’s really wonderful to see where the game has gone and finally to be able to catch on with some mainstream appeal.”
The opinions on X have been divided with some saying Angel Reese should have the honor on her own with others saying Caitlin Clark deserved the honor. We’ve got reactions from all sides below.
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Photo: Ben Solomon / Getty
